(Newser) – Apparently, pepper spraying dozens of protesters who are sitting peacefully on the ground in front of you counts as a debilitating—and lucrative—workplace incident. Former UC Davis police officer John Pike has been awarded $38,055 in workers' compensation for the "continuous trauma" he suffered as a result of his infamous spraying fit, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

The police union says Pike received more than 17,000 emails and 10,000 texts after his conduct went viral, forcing him to change his phone number, email address, and even physical address. (To say nothing of the horrors of being the target of a weird art meme.) A UC Davis spokesman says the payout "is in line with permanent impairment as calculated by the state's disability evaluation unit." It's more than the school paid to any of Pike's victims, who each received $30,000 in a lawsuit settlement. (Read more pepper spray stories.)

