The email I sent to Officer Pike
Officer Pike,
I, like many others, am writing to express my horror and visceral disgust over what you did to the UC Davis students who were protesting on Friday. I can’t even imagine what was going through your head as you looked at a group of seated, peaceful protesters and decided to pull the trigger. I’ve heard that you and your fellow officers (in riot gear, holding guns and batons) felt somehow threatened by the crowd on the quad. Maybe you did. But surely you know that pepper spray is an effective deterrent in small quantities from a greater distance - and would be incredibly painful and possibly harmful at the range and in the quantity with which you doused those students.
What you did went beyond excessive — it was cruel. It was an act of hate and contempt and torture.
If that was your orders, and you didn’t have the strength to stand up and say no — you should not be a police officer. If it was your idea, you should tried and sent to jail.
Either way, I hope you are not proud of your actions.
From New York City,
F.L.
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Send your emails to japikeiii@ucdavis.edu.
