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NYPD Officer Who Threw Punch May Be Implicated In Bologna's Pepper Spraying
By
Christopher Robbins
Published Oct 15, 2011
Modified Oct 19, 2011
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By
Christopher Robbins
Published Oct 15, 2011
Modified Oct 19, 2011
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Yesterday we reported that a protester was struck in the face by a white-shirted NYPD supervisor during clashes between demonstrators and the police. While NYPD spokesman Paul Browne has refused to identify the officer who hit Felix Rivera-Pitre, eyewitnesses (as well as police sources informing the Daily News) identify him as Deputy Inspector Johnny Cardona. Cardona allegedly grabbed a woman by the throat shortly before Deputy Inspector Anthony Bologna discharged pepper spray on a corralled group of women in September.
The Daily Kos has the full account of the incident, in which Cardona allegedly reached over an orange police barricade and grabs a woman by the head, drags her underneath the net, and orders her arrest. The video below shows the action from several different angles.
A Daily News article dated May 6, 2008, details allegations that Transit District 11 Captain Johnny Cardona wrote a memo that amounted to an illegal quota. "We had a few personnel in certain squads that did not perform to standard," Cardona wrote. "So, effective immediately, those individuals will not be authorized programmatic overtime." His memo continues:
"I have been extremely patient about this and quite frankly, I am fed up," he wrote. "I am a fair person and will not tolerate anyone getting over while everyone else is pulling their load. I will see you about this soon!"
A PBA spokesman at the time said, "Management can call them whatever they want, but when punitive action follows a failure to write a target number of summonses, then it is an illegal quota."
Another Daily News article dated November 6, 2006, notes that a Captain Johnny Cardona was awarded $17,000 after a federal jury found the NYPD guilty of intentionally discriminating against him by not assigning him to an elite NYPD aviation unit. Cardona joined the NYPD in 1990 and reportedly applied to be in the aviation unit three times, but was denied because he was in the Army Reserves.
Tagged
anthony bologna
felix rivera-pitre
nypd
occupy wall street
police brutality
protests
wall street
white-shirts
Christopher Robbins
Christopher Robbins is a New York City reporter covering transportation, affordable housing, local politics, and criminal justice. His work has also appeared in New York Magazine, The Village Voice and The New York Times. Chris is a graduate of Patrick Henry High School in Roanoke, Virginia, and enjoys biking to Fort Tilden in the summertime.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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