Pepper Spraying Cop Becomes Internet Meme

Last week, news broke out that U.C. Davis campus police pepper-sprayed non-violent students protesting on campus as part of the Occupy Wall Street movement. The videos shot of the scene showed a policeman, Lt. John Pike, walking up to the protesters, pulling out his pepper spray and then dousing them at close range. As expected, over the weekend, the incident went viral.

The Internet found a way to shame Lt. Pike for his actions. An accompanying Tumblr blog called Pepper Spraying Cop has now sprung up and that notorious photo is being photoshopped into everything from Edward Hopper paintings to Pink Floyd album covers to Star Wars stills.