University of California Will Pay Damages To Students Pepper Sprayed

SAN FRANCISCO — The University of California will pay damages to the UC Davis students and alumni who were pepper sprayed by campus police during an otherwise peaceful protest 10 months ago, officials said Thursday.

The UC regents, in a closed-door meeting, approved the proposed settlement payment to 21 UC Davis students and alumni who sued the university and contended their civil rights were violated in the widely criticized pepper spray incident.

However, both UC officials and the ACLU of Northern California, which is representing the students in the lawsuit, refused to divulge settlement details, saying the rules of the agreement talks require a federal judge to review the matter before it can be made public. That may happen within a few days, they said.

Jonathan Stein, the UC student regent, said the settlement was warranted. "We did an injustice to our students that day at Davis, and some amount of recompense is appropriate. More importantly, it's time for us as an institution to publicly acknowledge that's not the way we should treat our students; we were wrong, and we are moving forward," he said.

We covered this when it happened.  This was an absolutely disgusting abuse of power during a peaceful protest.  The public was surprised and angry about how kids are treated when obeying the law.

We teach our children that they should stand up for what is right.  That's a good thing.  What is unfortunate is when they stand up against bullies that are meant to help our young find their way in this world.

They deserve every penny.