A senior
New York police officer accused of pepper-spraying young women on the "
Occupy Wall Street" demonstrations is the subject of a pending legal action over his conduct at another
protest in the city.
The Guardian has learned that the officer, named by activists as deputy inspector Anthony Bologna, stands accused of false arrest and civil rights violations in a claim brought by a protester involved in the 2004 demonstrations at the Republican national convention.
Then, 1,800 people were arrested during protests against the Iraq war and the policies of president George W Bush.
Alan Levine, a civil rights lawyer representing Post A Posr, a protester at the 2004 event, told the Guardian that he filed an action against Bologna and another officer, Tulio Camejo, in 2007. The case, filed at the New York Southern District Court, is expected to be heard next year.
Levine said that when he heard about the pepper spray incident "a bunch of us were wondering if any of the same guys were involved".
The lawyer said Posr was arrested on 31 August 2004, after he approached the driver of a Volkswagen festooned with anti-abortion slogans.
His arrest was not directly related to the protest against the Republican convention, but was at a time of heightened tension in New York.
Levine said: "Police contend that Posr hit the man with a rolled-up newspaper. He said he was just talking to the guy. Bologna ordered another officer, Camejo, to arrest Posr."
Posr was charged with two counts of disorderly conduct and one count of second degree harassment, and held until September 2. On November 8, all charges against him were dropped.
Levine said that, in a departure from normal police procedure, his client was held in a special detention facility, at Pier 57, where he and others arrested were held until the protests were over.
The Guardian asked the NYPD to respond to the naming of the officer and the allegation that he was previously the subject of a civil rights complaint, but a spokesman said the department had not yet decided whether to comment.
Bologna's name appeared on Twitter and on activists' websites after the incident on Saturday. YouTube footage appears to show a white-shirted NYPD officer firing the spray into the eyes of the protesters, who are penned in by other officers with orange netting. As the officer walks away, two of the women crumple to the ground, screaming in pain.
There were a number of clashes between protesters and police at the march, when protesters moved uptown from their base at a park in the Financial District. There were about 80 arrests.
Hacker collective Anonymous claimed responsibility on Monday for posting Bologna's details, which they said was in retribution for the pepper-spray incident.
The online postings identified Bologna as a deputy inspector of Patrol Borough Manhattan South, and revealed his phone number and family details.
The information, posted on a site called Pastebin, included a statement which read: "As we watched your officers kettle innocent women, we observed you barbarically pepper-spray wildly into the group of kettled women. We were shocked and disgusted by your behaviour."
"You know who the innocent women were; now they will have the chance to know who you are. Before you commit atrocities against innocent people, think twice. WE ARE WATCHING!!! Expect Us!"
Since the post, other activists have followed suit, urging people to call his precinct to complain or to call him directly.
The move drew a mixed response from the Occupy Wall Street activists who have been camped out in Zuccotti Park for nine days. Many say they were angry about the "brutal and unnecessary" tactics used by police at the weekend.
Hero Vincent, 28, an artist from the Bronx, said: "I think it should be out there, so that people know what's going on and if people want to enter his precinct and ask that he should be fired, they can. We are a peaceful protest. For them to attack us is wrong."
Vincent, who was arrested for resisting arrest on Saturday, claimed he was kicked in the stomach by officers.
But there was also disquiet over the officer's family details being made public.
Another protester, who did not want to be named, told the Guardian: "My dad is a police officer and he got a lot of death threats. I don't know if his family details should be out there. But if the information is correct and he has a rights case against him, I'm extremely concerned that he was put into what was a very tense situation."
One protester, Jeanne Mansfield – who said she was standing so close to the women sprayed in the face that her own eyes burned – claimed other NYPD officers had expressed disbelief at the actions of the senior officer.
In a vivid account of the incident in the Boston Review, Mansfield said: "A white-shirt, now known to be NYPD Lieutenant Anthony Bologna, comes from the left, walks straight up to the three young girls at the front of the crowd, and pepper-sprays them in the face for a few seconds, continuing as they scream 'No! Why are you doing that?!'"
Despite her attempts to turn away from the "unavoidable" spray, Mansfield, who took part in Saturday's march with her boyfriend on a whim after "stumbling across" it, said she suffered burning and temporary blindness in her left eye and tears streaming down her face.
She continued: "In the street I shout for water to rinse my eyes or give to the girls on the ground. But no one responds. One of the blue-shirts, tall and bald, stares in disbelief and says, 'I can't believe he just fuckin' maced her.'"
By DJ Pangburn Wednesday, September 28, 2011 deathandtaxesmag.com
A petition has been created at Change.org with the intent of being sent to Mayor Michael Bloomberg, asking him to remove NYPD’s deputy inspector of Patrol Borough Manhattan South
Anthony Bologna from the force for pepper-spraying peaceful protesters at Union Square on September 24th.
The protesters were already hemmed in with orange netting. They had nowhere to go. They were effectively neutralized by the law, and yet Bologna thought it a good idea to sneak in, pepper-spray the protesters and then run away like a coward back into his crowd of police officers, as though cameras would not catch him if he were quick about it.
The NYPD is defending Bologna’s actions and there is no sign that his conduct is being investigated. Indeed, the NYPD, through
spokesperson Paul Browne, is advancing the absurd theory that they, in fact, are the victims here. Therefore, this petition is essential.
The petition states, “We demand that Anthony Bologna be charged with assault for his actions and that he sees jail time.”
It also states, “We demand that Mayor Michael Bloomberg address the Occupy Wall Street & General Assembly and apologize for the police brutality and the weak attempt at a cover-up that has followed.”
Also included in the petition is a request to remove NYPD Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly for not being able to control senior officers but in “sheltering them from receiving punishment.”
Bologna clearly displayed not only a lack of judgment but also a reprehensible reaction to his own actions—running away from his handiwork and, according to some, laughter. At the very least, the pepper-spray incident deserves investigation, as well as the high-tailing it from the scene; but the laughter after the fact should be investigated as well.
It seems that Bologna has a history with protesters. Bologna stands accused of false arrest and civil rights violations in a 2007 claim filed by a protester who attended the 2004 Republican National Convention demonstrations. The case is to be heard next year. And
Cryptome makes reference to a 2001 May Day incident in which Bologna shoved two protesters.
Head over to
Change.org to sign the petition.
.
Exhibit 1) Mayor Warns of Riots in the Streets on September 16, 2011 - "...that's what happened in Cairo, that's what happened in Madrid, you don't want those kind of riots here..."
Exhibit 2) New York City Police Crack Down, Police Supervisor (provocateur) using (a) excessive force as well as (b) chemical agents(see top photo) to illegally suppress people's right to protest peacefully.
Exhibit 3) Isolate and Pen-In Peaceful Victims on Sidewalk: Video shows uniformed officers had corralled women protesters using orange nets.
Exhibit 4) So-Called Rogue Police Supervisor (provocateur) checks out next victim for Mace Attack (Watch video carefully): Police supervisors made a beeline for the women, and at least one suddenly sprayed the women before turning and quickly walking away
Exhibit 6) Denial of Incident (i.e. Plausible Deni-ability) - Removal of Police Isolation Corral - Leaving Victims on Sidewalk to Treat Their Injuries Themselves: Footage of other police altercations also circulated online, but it was unclear what caused the dramatic mood shift in an otherwise peaceful demonstration.
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