Forum Post: UC Davis Lt John Pike violated protesters 4th Amendment rights

Heres the gist of it: The use of pepper spray on passive or non violent persons by police, is a violation of our 4th amendment rights. Steven D, in a non rec list diary on Wednesday deserves the credit here, but in light of the more recent events at UC Davis on Friday, it may be that Steven D was prescient.

Non-violent protesters do not surrender their Fourth Amendment Rights to be free from excessive force by police. Specifically, non-violent protesters may sue police and the municipality of county that employs them under this Federal law, 42 United States Code Section 1983 if they have been pepper sprayed while peacefully protesting, whether or not the protesters were arrested.

Title 42 Chapter 21, subchapter 1 Section 1983 can be found here. The protesters that were pepper sprayed at UC Davis need to consult an attorney.

At about 6:30pm EST Occupy UC Davis facebook page reported:

Protesters will be engaging civil rights attorneys to pursue legal action against the University and City of Davis for excessive force and for violating their civil and constitutional rights. The Women that were pepper sprayed at OWS a few weeks ago by Sgt Pepper Spray should also consult an attorney.

If there was ever any doubt in anyones mind about maintaining a non violent policy, let me make it totally clear that by by staying non violent the protesters at UC Davis are protected by the 4th Amendment. Clearly if law suits are filed, Lt John Pike and the other Officers who pepper sprayed the protesters (in their open mouths !) may be found liable for significant awards in court. It may be that any UC Davis official who ordered or authorized this activity may also face liability.

The 1% cannot steal our futures by pepper spraying us, they cannot have the Boston Police throw a 74 year old Korean War Veteran to the ground, and not expect that same man to get out of jail and return the next day, only to continue protesting.

The 1% cannot send our jobs overseas and expect us to say... Oh darn...OK. The 1% cannot send the Police into Occupy Oakland, shoot Scot Olsen in the head with a tear gas round, and not expect us to be back the next day.

1 percenter Mayor Michael Bloomberg cannot evict Occupy Wall St from Zuccotti Park and not expect us to come back 32,000 strong. Does Lt John Pike understand that Occupy UC Davis meets this Sunday at 3pm, that the very students he deprived of their 4th amendment rights....... are not going anywhere?

Do you, the one percenters understand that for every depraved action, for every brutality, for every act of economic oppression, for every violation of our constitutional rights.....

We are not going anywhere.

1%'ers, you have stolen our homes, sent our jobs overseas, your money has corrupted our politics, and you still ask us to share the sacrifice. We have nothing left but our souls, we have nothing left to be stolen, you have stolen our future.

You are thieves, you are plutocracy, you are corrupt, have you forgotten:

We are Legion. We do not forgive. We do not forget. Expect us

The Supreme Court held that excessive force claims are properly analyzed under the Fourth Amendment's “objective reasonableness” standard. http://www.aele.org/zigmund2004.html