Cop behind UC Davis pepper spraying off the force

Updated at 1:20 p.m. ET

(CBS/AP) SACRAMENTO, Calif. - A University of California, Davis, police officer who sprayed demonstrators with pepper spray during a campus protest last fall no longer works for the university, CBS Sacramento station KOVR-TV reports.

A UC Davis official confirmed Tuesday night to KOVR-TV that Lt. John Pike separated from the university's police force Tuesday. The university declined to comment further, citing privacy concerns.

When reached by The Sacramento Bee, Pike declined to comment.

The 39-year-old Pike had been on paid leave since the incident last November when video images showed him and another officer spraying demonstrators who were seated on a sidewalk and refused police orders to disperse during an Occupy protest.

The images were watched online and on broadcast stations around the world.

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In New York, three people who claimed they were pepper sprayed by police officers at an Occupy Wall Street protest in Manhattan have filed lawsuits against the city, its police department and several police officers.

Plaintiffs Kelly Hanlin, Damien Crisp and Julie Lawler say they were injured and their constitutional rights were violated when they were sprayed by a chemical during a march from Zuccotti Park to Union Square on Sept. 24. The filings in federal court seek unspecified damages.

A video of the protest shows Deputy Inspector Anthony Bologna blasting a cluster of people with pepper spray. Bologna was later docked 10 vacation days in a disciplinary action.

A spokesman for the city's Law Department told The New York Times they hadn't viewed the lawsuits, which were filed on Tuesday.