Some facts about John Pike, the notorious UC-Davis cop who pepper-sprayed passive student protestors.

1. “A public task force, led by former California Supreme Court Justice Cruz Reynoso … found that Pike did not need to use the pepper spray, used a spray not sanctioned for use by the department and used it at too close a range.”
2. Pike was fired for this.
3. “before he was ultimately fired, Pike was on paid leave for 8 months… he received an additional $81,120”
4. He “reportedly suffered depression and anxiety” and for that he “will receive workers’ compensation totaling $38,059.”
5. He will receive his pension, even though he was fired.

Some facts about the students he assaulted:

1. They received just over $6,500, compared with Pike’s nearly $120,000.
2. Their tuition partially subsidized Pike’s payout and pension.

Some facts about justice in the United States.

1. This is exactly what it looks like.
2. Period.

Update (7:57 pm, October 23): Thanks to Michael Truscello for pointing out the substantial salary of Pike, at $121,680 per year, and making a comparison to professor pay. To explore this in some depth:

• In the U.S., there are about 800,000 cops, and they are paid a median salary of over $55k.
• Cops have a modal education level of a high-school diploma.
• Cops in California have a mean annual salary of $84,320. In San Francisco, it is over $96k per year.
• By comparison, professors may have twice as many years in school and earn a median salary of $81k in the US.
• The average full professor in the US makes less than Pike did, at $113k.
• According to the Chronicle of Higher Education, assistant professors at UC-Davis make $81,300. UC-Davis assistant professors average $90,600, and full professors on average make $129,400.
• On average, it takes about 7 years to advance to full professor.

More at info at:

http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes333051.htm

http://chronicle.com/article/faculty-salaries-data-2012/131431#id=110644