UC Davis chief overruled panel to fire pepper-spray officer
The internal affairs investigation into last November’s pepper-spraying controversy at UC Davis concluded that Lt. John Pike acted reasonably, with a subsequent review concluding he should have faced demotion or a suspension at worst, according to documents obtained by The Bee. Despite those recommendations, Pike was fired Tuesday after UC Davis Police Chief Matthew Carmichael rejected the findings and wrote in a letter to Pike that “the needs of the department do not justify your continued employment,” according to the documents… Experts differ on whether a law enforcement leader’s decision to overrule a disciplinary recommendation from an internal affairs panel is common. Former Sacramento Sheriff John McGinness, who said he has overseen more than 100 such investigations, said such moves are extremely rare. “That would be most unusual,” he said. But Michael Risher, an attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union who is suing Pike and the university on behalf of students who were pepper-sprayed, said there are numerous instances where internal affairs investigations have failed to properly discipline officers. “The idea that police departments adequately police themselves has been shown again and again to be a complete fallacy,” said Risher…
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by Sam Stanton, The Sacramento Bee.