UC Davis Spent $175,000 To Bury Search Results After Cops Pepper-Sprayed Protestors (theverge.com)

An anonymous reader quotes a report from The Verge: The University of California, Davis spent at least $175,000 to improve its reputation on the internet after images of campus police pepper-spraying protestors went viral in 2011, according to documents obtained by The Sacramento Bee. The money went to public relations firms that promised to clean up the university's search results. One company outlined a plan for "eradication of references to the pepper spray incident," according to the documents, and was eventually paid nearly $93,000, including expenses, for a six-month campaign in 2013. After that, the Bee reports, the university paid $82,500 to another PR firm to create and follow through on a "search engine results management strategy." The latter firm was later given thousands more in other contracts to build a university social media program, and to vet its communications department.

Comments

Re:Who is "The University?"

[naughtynaughty]

"According to a database of state worker salaries, he earned $119,067 in 2011, the last year for which figures are available."

He received $38,000 in workman's compensation for the suffering he experienced after the event, which isn't included in the salary figure.

http://www.sfgate.com/politics...

Re:Who is "The University?"

[drinkypoo]

The appropriate response to a lone wolf security guard from a PR standpoint is to issue a statement that it was the act of a single guard

Hey, Junior, RTFM. It wasn't a "security guard", it was a fucking cop. It wasn't just the school that paid this guy's salary, it was all of us.

Pursuing a cover-up campaign makes it look a lot more sinister, indicating (right or wrong) that the university supports the behavior

They do. That's why their own personal police department (and schools very much do set the tone for their PDs) is hiring people who think that pepper spraying peaceful protesters is a good idea.

Re:Reputation management

[dwillden]

The police action was an assignment to remove an Occupy camp. The moved in as ordered. The students then sat and blocked their route back to their vehicles and as the officers asked the sitting students to move, more sat down surrounding the officers. The Officers had no clear path to leave by. They asked and ordered the students to move, they did not. The officers showed the students the pepper spray and told them what would happen if they did not move. The students had every opportunity to move. They could have stood and let the officers pass and then continued their idiotic protests.

Re:A world where we will never be forgiven.

[harrkev]

Ok, my dear fascist, do tell me how people sitting on the ground can "surround" an officer.

Clearly, you need to look up the definition of the word "surround." There were a LOT more students and officers. Given that the officers do not have wings, and could probably not pole-vault even if they had the poles, surrounding is certainly possible.

Here is a video showing what happened; not just the pepper spraying, but everything leading up to it. Around 7:30 you can see the officer telling the protestors individually that if they do not move, they will be sprayed and then saying "Do you understand?" Yeah, how horrible of him, giving them every chance to avoid being sprayed.

People certainly have the right to protest, but they have no right to impede those who are not involved in the protest. You can see them blocking the walkway. There was PLENTY of grass there. Stay on the grass, and don't block the people not involved in the protest.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?...