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Identified: NYPD Officer Who Maced Peaceful Protesters
photo by Jim Kiernan / http://www.flickr.com/photos/jimkiernan/sets/72157627623086865/
A photographer has identified the cruel and cowardly NYPD supervisor who point blank maced a penned in group of young women and then slinks away Saturday at the Occupy Wall Street protests:
Deputy Inspector Anthony V. Bologna of the NYPD Patrol Borough Manhattan South.
TAKE ACTION
If you think Deputy Inspector Bologna should be fired and prosecuted for his abuse of power, file an on-line complaint with:
- Mayor Michael Bloomberg: http://www.nyc.gov/html/mail/html/mayor.html
- and, NYPD Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly: http://www.nyc.gov/html/mail/html/mailnypd.html
- and, the NYC Civilian Complaint Review Board: https://www.nyc.gov/html/ccrb/html/complaint.html
UPDATED: The Guardian reported that Deputy Inspector Anthony Bologna also 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 a protester at the event, told the Guardian that he filed an action against Bologna and another officer in 2007. The case is expected to be heard next year.
Photo/ http://davidscameracraft.blogspot.com
Photo/ http://www.thevillager.com/villager_113/afteryearsoftrouble.html
Slow-Motion Video of Saturday's Macing Assault
And, James Fallows at The Atlantic writes:
According to the NYT, the chief police spokesman, Paul Browne, said that the policeman used pepper spray "appropriately." Great. On the video we can't hear what either side is saying. But at face value, the casualness of the officer who saunters over, sprays right in the women's eyes, and then slinks away without a backward glance, as if he'd just put down an animal, does not match my sense of "appropriate" behavior by officers of the law in a free society.
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289 Comments so far
Show AllI am glad you're teaching. Our kids deserve teachers like you. History isn't boring. If we forget what we should have learned from past mistakes like "Enron", we're set to relive that sort of thing over and over again. Kind of like the Savings and Loan scandals. Ring a bell anyone?
Let's not relive Kent State!
i also am glad folks like you are teaching our munchkins and i think your comment very succinctly summarizes the incident in my mind.
- - - - - - - - - -
I think scenes like that one Officer Balogna gave us last weekend will help raise consciousness of people all over the country to the fact that the cops are ofttimes belligerent fascist pigs. That they are threat to our very being, and that something has to be done about it.
I personally think that heads should roll all the way up to the Police Commissioner for what happened there.
- - - - - - - - - -
...peace...
hello, ShadowDancer!
fine post...
Fukushima burns, and wind and rain bring the hot particles here...
drones roll off of the assembly lines...
more and more houses sit empty...business fronts, too...
kids go to school and are taught lies about their country...
lies reinforced by parent, president, soldier and policeman...
lies supported by a fist, or mace, or tasers, or worse...
whatever is coming, one senses it is coming sooner, rather than later, as we approach tipping points, and do so with the brashness of delirium...
always good to read your words...may this day find you well...
Snakes have been here since the beginning of time, like anything in nature they can have good power or bad power or both. I could say more but I think we all realize it is a misuse of power.
I think it is sad that there only seem to be a handful of people commenting on this. Even more, it's sad that only about 117,000 people even like Commondreams.org on Facebook. This is a fantastic website that all Americans should be tuned into, and considering how many idiots use Facebook, one might think it a proper medium to spread the word about things and spark some change. Still, we're the dumbest country on this earth right now... we're so unbelievably stupid. Just turn on the TV or radio. Our illiteracy is downright brutal. I don't think anyone could write better comedy. There are so many things that need fixing while we still give a f*** about "America's Got Talents" and "Desperate Housewives". Yeah, we're pretty f***ing desperate over here.
Fandom on Facebook is not a real measure of anything. I haven't fanned or liked Common Dreams on Facebook. Why should I. I use Facebook for family and friend contacts. I come to Common Dreams to discuss politics and news. Let's get real folks Facebook is not the sum of all things. It's a tool some of use very limitedly. It's financial value is very over weighted strictly on empty numbers. Like the hype on MySpace just a few short years ago. Still keeping that MySpace page updated are you? I am thinking you are a shill paid to up the popularity of Facebook, or perhaps a "intelligence sock puppet", irate you have to leave Facebook, to actually maintain any credibility in staying connected.
You are more focussed on how many people have fanned CD on Facebook, and pay little attention to the topic of this specific discussion. I smell dirty "sock puppet". Learn to spot them people.
They'd love for us all to fan and inter-post on twitter and facebook. Maintain one identity. It makes their job harder when we bounce around and remain disconnected.These are the same people that think we should use our own names while posting on the internet. Think about it. They get paid to surveil the rest of us, it would make their job much easier if they didn't have to figure out who we are.
A dirty sock puppet? You're cracking me up. Please excuse me for suggesting that the hugely interconnected web of people on Facebook could be a great outlet for sharing news like this to a far wider range of people than are actually visiting Commondreams.
You suggest I pay more attention to the "fanning" of this site on Facebook than the topic of discussion? I read most, if not all, of the news daily on this site and today was the first day I decided to comment.
I don't think I will comment anymore, if the best response this thread has to offer is some clown like you suggesting I am a dirty "sock puppet".
Garndernorcal? Sounds to me like you are one of those kind who holes up in the hills of Humboldt county and grows a ton of weed to make ends meet since you didn't have any other real skills that would put a roof over your head. On top of this, I would bet you hoard all of your TAX-FREE earnings while you use county roads and services, all the while getting on these threads and bitch about how f***ed up everything is, including those on Wall St. who make a fortune.
Get a life man, you won't hear from me again.
Oh, I spelled your name wrong, GARDNER.
My apologies.
I see where you're coming from but facebook does have its uses...Occupy Wall St. has been gaining roughly 200 likes an hour for the past couple of days and is about to reach 20,000 in ten days...people like me from all over the world share articles like this one and get up to the minute posts from the protesters...now that's using the technology to our advantage...if you agree with the protesters or want to know more about what their goals are please like or at least visit their page...Likewise because this Common Dreams article and ones like it are being posted on the page on a regular basis this site is getting the exposure it deserves...and broadens the dialogue...
I understand, Facebook does have its issues. My line of thinking was that, with millions connected, it surely could be used in a positive way.
Much love to all.
May we somehow, as a species, move forward with a clear vision of what it means to be alive and to consume the resources of this planet.
Devour to survive. So it is, and so it has always been.
Devour to survive? Really? Is that what your granny taught you? The one that told you to link all your connections on the internet to "twitter" and "facebook"? Excuse me if I skeptical.
Use facebook at your own risk to propagate dissension of this sort. It's well known it's been infilitrated. Privately owned intelligence consultants are paid highly to monitor it and report back.
The protesters are well aware of this and so am I but you have to make a choice.You can't let fear and paranoia rule you. The protesters decided to be totally open and non-violent and let that be their protection. But I think they'd be more worried about infiltration on the ground not in cyberspace.
There are other places to organize, and we all know that. Facebook and Twitter, are sold on the exchange, they aren't really the soul of anything any of us stand for. They haven't even existed that long. Should they close down we can all still find each other. How very odd that they are held as so important and valuable?
I have not seen one comment on here that says Facebook and Twitter are so valuable. I don't even have a Twitter. "Aren't really the soul of anything any of us stand for"?
What do we stand for, Gardernorcal, since you clearly speak for us all?
Commondreams asks us to help spread the word by liking them on Facebook.
Are they now dirty sock puppets as well?
These types of comments and threads are NO different than the ones posted on Facebook, you just front like you are so goddamned smart.
My Granny (R.I.P.) did not teach me "devour to survive", it is a basic animal instinct.
Eat. Survive.
If someone else is taking what is yours by force, and the best you can do is argue on Commondreams, then it looks to me like you're already getting eaten alive.
The police need to realize their pensions were hit by the thieves of Wall Street too.
Well, yes, but they also realize who pays their wages. No, not taxpayers, but a corporatist bureaucracy bent on suppressing dissent. That's why they do not, will not, and cannot fight on our side. (Not that I'd want people of such "ethics" on our side to begin with.)
Corporations don't pay their wages. Shit they don't even pay taxes. Multinational coporations only pay consultants and lobbyists. We the 99 percent pay their wages. Don't fall into the trap.
There's a difference between "corporatist" and "corporation." The former is a synonym for "fascist" strictly defined. The latter is a private enterprise with little or no liability.
Excellent point!
When your pension and benefits are cut and your ability to collectively bargain is threatened, try to find someone who'll rally and protest for you, Asshole Bologna.
I am sure today he probably has an assured position in the Erik Prince network of mercenaries.
Seriously, I know that policemen usually are not what they are portrayed as, "a bunch of ignorant power hungry, "kissin the man's ass" kind of mooks". That is not the is not the case usually but, it does seem to be the case here. Are these officers really that stupid to believe that after wall street gave it to them "up the A##" by robbing their pension funds that they are gonna watch out for them or reward them. These non-provoked attacks are being sanctioned by the highest ranks of the NYPD for their masters on Wall St. Wake up officers! These US citizens are not your enemies! Your attacking going after the wrong people! Mr. Bologna (how ironic) should be brought to justice for his attack.
I don't like kangaroo courts and vigilantism. Which is what that call to harrass the cop is.
If a cop does something wrong then he should get hauled over the coals by his superiors and can go through the justice system like everyone else.
What if his superiors find nothing wrong with his behavior? And who exactly are his superiors? Don't taxpayers pay his salary. Who exactly is calling for harassing him? I am thinking we're just calling for some accountability. We can all view on the video that he chose to pepper spray a bunch of women already confined. Do you think his superiors would have called him on it if no one had said anything? Do yo personally think his life or security or that of Wall St. was endangered?
thanks CD for posting this info...
this guy, in my humble opinion, appears to me to be the ass-kisser of ass-kissers. i doubt that he acted this way (spraying the protesters w/ mace) unless he was authorized to do so or unless he was certain there would be no reprisals. if you read his bio it's clear the guy wanted to be a cop and has experience harassing peaceful demonstrators.
http://www.thevillager.com/villager_113/afteryearsoftrouble.html
{"But his career path changed again when he passed the exam for captain and won the promotion in October 1998 that sent him back to Manhattan South Borough Command. He became acting commanding officer in February 2000 of the Manhattan South Task Force, the unit that responds to special situations like demonstrations and received the full appointment in May the following year."}
i found this quote particularly ironic....
{"In February 1993 he began working as an internal investigator in the chief of patrol’s office. “It was my first taste of internal investigation and it opened my eyes to the darker side of police work,” Bologna said. “You read in the papers about cops doing things that you can’t believe because you think everybody’s like you. But a department this large can’t really be completely free of it. If you don’t find anything wrong, you’re in real trouble because you’re not looking,” he observed."}
guess what, somebody was looking....
...peace..
if there was a just god and if we lived in a society that cared about personal accountability...
- - - - - - - - -
It's All Over Now, Baby Blue - b dylan/1965
You must leave now, take what you need, you think will last
But whatever you wish to keep, you better grab it fast
Yonder stands your orphan with his gun
Crying like a fire in the sun
Look out the saints are comin’ through
And it’s all over now, Baby Blue
The highway is for gamblers, better use your sense
Take what you have gathered from coincidence
The empty-handed painter from your streets
Is drawing crazy patterns on your sheets
This sky, too, is folding under you
And it’s all over now, Baby Blue
All your seasick sailors, they are rowing home
All your reindeer armies, are all going home
The lover who just walked out your door
Has taken all his blankets from the floor
The carpet, too, is moving under you
And it’s all over now, Baby Blue
Leave your stepping stones behind, something calls for you
Forget the dead you’ve left, they will not follow you
The vagabond who’s rapping at your door
Is standing in the clothes that you once wore
Strike another match, go start anew
And it’s all over now, Baby Blue
- - - - - - - - - -
...peace...
I'm sure this guy will be the Police Officer of the Year - be given a raise and praised by his fellows in the Police Union. Maybe the mayor will honor him but only after people write letters complaining about his behavior. Like they always say "they are the good guys" which means everyone else is the "bad guys." Haven't you'all got it yet, bad is good, yes is no, black is white, right is wrong.
This is an absurd society. We live in it.
Not if enough of us stand up and say no more. Today's the day to stand and say no more!
Isn't Wall St. closed on Saturday. Why were those women netted up? Anyone answer that? What harm were they? Who were they threatening?
Ahhh they were taking pictures. The NYPD didn't want that. Surprised their cameras weren't confiscated. Excessive use of force no matter how you look at it.
COWARD is an understatement. These pukes hide behind their badges and in a gang like coyotes. But by themselves they (always) get what they deserve.
This looks like a scene out of the latest Gestapo Campaign. Not freakin' AMERIKA!!
The Land of the "free", and the "brave" (like this bastard NYPD).
All cops are SCUM!!! They all protect each other with this blue code of brotherhood shit. I would have punched that SOB in the face if he did that to me.
Hard to do when you're being sprayed in the face with chemicals. Not all cops are scum but those that cover for those that abuse their power are.
It's really hard to remember to have sympathy for "New York's finest" from 9/11, when they engage in fascist tactics like this. I have a temper, and if I were witnessing an outrage like this in person, I would be sorely tempted to whack any cop macing peaceful protesters with a baseball bat upside the head, which is what they deserve for doing these heinous acts. Notice they also arrested people who were photographing or videotaping the "police riot", for exercising their constitutional right to photograph "public servants" performing their duties in public.
you may want to read this article from June 2010.
http://gizmodo.com/5553765/are-cameras-the-new-guns
here in the UK it is already illegal to snap cops on duty, which makes it fun.
Well I am sorry you in the UK allowed that to pass. As far as I know it's still legal here in the US. What happenned while Tony Blair was backing up GW you guys let your guard down? How stupid was that?
"Notice they also arrested people who were photographing or videotaping the "police riot", for exercising their constitutional right to photograph "public servants" performing their duties in public."
They actually arrested people for photographing. I want documentation of that. Where's the media on that? I want more information on that. That's a crime. A major crime against the constitution an a free press.
..
This morning's "Democracy Now" coverage of the demonstrations and arrests did say that bystanders photographing the macing of protesters were arrested.
What is this "constitution" you speak of? I think I wiped my ass with something similar to it this morning. I believe you are referring to some ancient, outmoded historical document from long, long ago...better get current.
One thing I disagree with "on the video we can't hear what either side is saying."
Actually, it seemed pretty clear that the women were saying "Why are you doing this?" as the officers penned them in.
That's probably why they were sprayed. I'd love to hear what the justification for spraying was. I don't think any of them were violent, or a threat. I didn't see anyone pointing a gun...but I did see many pointing cell phones. Is that grounds? Whoa.... I bet the cellular phone industry would love to know that pointing a cell phone demonstrates a reason for being maced.
My home town, Philly-- aka The City of Brotherly Love-- is by and large a cop-loving town.
As this story and comments threads show, it's by no means the only city in which cops literally get away with murder, and a "Silent Majority" of residents not only tolerate such excesses but remain sympathetic and supportive.
If they televised a video showing a mob of police officers holding down a suspect until a cop comes back with an axe and chops off the suspect's head, the District Attorney and Police Commissioner would call a press conference and argue with a straight face that it was wrong to rush to judgement-- either because the public "haven't seen the entire video", or because there are exculpatory factors that the video doesn't reveal.
The Philadelphia PD are also proficient at summarily executing mentally disturbed persons, even in cases where the victim's family summoned the police for help precisely BECAUSE the victim was out of control and the family wanted to make sure that the person didn't hurt themselves or others. Sorry about that!
And every shoot is rubber-stamped "justifiable" if a cop on the scene alleges that the decedent "appeared to reach for his waistband". (I don't mean to sound sexist, but I can't recall ever hearing of a woman being shot dead by police for the capital crime of "appearing to reach for HER waistband".)
Cops don't even have to throw down planted guns any more when they summarily execute unarmed suspects. And they don't even have to claim that the dead guy WAS reaching for his waistband-- just that he "appeared" to be doing so.
That's enough to give them a pass from a permanently fearful and insecure public, and their winking supervisors and allies in the DA's office and local mass-media.
It's enough to make one lose one's appetite for watching all those "Law and Order" and "CSI" melodramas.
"The Philadelphia PD are also proficient at summarily executing mentally disturbed persons, even in cases where the victim's family summoned the police for help precisely BECAUSE the victim was out of control and the family wanted to make sure that the person didn't hurt themselves or others. Sorry about that!"
____________________________________________
This topic really hits a nerve with me, O.S.
I've lived in San Diego for nearly 25 years and during this period I can recall numerous police shootings (killings) of mostly poor transients who were unarmed. Off the top of my head, I can recall a man wielding a concrete trowel and another, surrounded by dozens of cops in a McDonald's parking lot, wielding nothing but a stick. For some reason, both of these men could not be restrained without the use of deadly force.
To date, I have yet to hear of a single police officer in this county whose lethal actions were not cleared as "justifiable" by the District Attorney. I think this is an outrage.
In early August of this year, during the early morning hours, a good friend's ex-husband, depressed over finances and despondent over her impending wedding plans, went to the top of the San Diego - Coronado Bridge, which spans the San Diego Bay between downtown San Diego and the island (peninsula, really) of Coronado. It is one of the deadliest suicide bridges in the US, with more than 230 documented incidents.
The bridge falls under the jurisdiction of the California Highway Patrol (CHP), as it is part of State Road I-75.
In what was clearly a cry for help, my friend's ex-husband phoned his sister and told her he was on the bridge and planning to jump. The sister called 9-11 for help and the CHP was dispatched to the scene.
No one but the officers involved will ever really know what happened, but my friend's ex-husband ended up dead, his body literally shredded when three CHP officers unloaded their weapons on him, claiming they thought he had a gun.
He was unarmed. He had a cell phone, which they already knew. They claimed they thought he had a gun when he allegedly pulled one of his hands from his pocket......
The three cops who fired upon him used a lethal combination of shotguns and hand guns. According to the autopsy report, which my friend viewed, one of his arms was torn off and his head was nearly detached from his torso. She told me that he was unrecognizable; he looked like hamburger.
The most experienced of the three officers involved in this killing was a veteran of only three years. One of the officers had two year's experience, the other less than one. In my opinion, they were all rookies.
It's difficult to comprehend how a team of officers ends up killing a man whose life they were allegedly dispatched to help save. It would seem to me that the CHP, knowing this bridge is the site of numerous suicide attempts, might have some plan in place or experts at the ready to deal with despondent or mentally ill people who are on the verge of ending their lives.
It strains credulity to believe these officers felt their lives were in danger or they had no alternative other than to kill this man, unless of course, they saw this as an opportunity for retribution.
The day before this incident, a San Diego police officer was shot and killed. He was a former military veteran who had been deployed to Iraq/Afganistan three times. He was lionized a 'hero'. The city was abuzz with local media coverage and the governor attended his funeral, which was held in the Rock Church, a mega-church operated by former San Diego Charger football player and now pastor, Miles McPherson.
Juxtaposing these two events, it's hard not to feel outrage and I can't help wondering if my friend's ex-husband paid the ultimate price for his untimely visit to the bridge so closely following the San Diego police officer's death from the previous day. Were these CHP officers simply angry, trigger-happy and looking for some type of revenge? We'll never know.
My friend's ex left behind a son, who will never see his father again. This killing of a disturbed and distraught man received minimal attention by local media, which, predictably, has shown no interest in launching any type of indepedent investigation into the facts surrounding this case. What little attention the matter did receive was framed in pro-police narrative. I'm not surprised. I've mentioned this killing to numerous people in my neighborhood - none have even heard the incident took place.
I fully expect, of course, that when the District Attorney's office completes its investigation of the matter, the killing will be ruled justifiable and all three of these CHP officers will be cleared and returned to the highways of San Diego County, ostensibly, to protect us.
The officer who used excessive force in the following photo also needs to be reported. Putting your knee on a suspects neck is not appropriate unless the suspect is resisting arrest and even then you only use the amount of force necessary to subdue the suspect. This is not a suspect but a peaceful demonstrator and also he is not resisting arrest. Likewise the women are not suspects but are demonstrators and are not resisting arrest also. The use of force in both case is excessive no matter what they say. When you know what the law says you can hold them to it. Any lawyers out there?
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10150458054324152&set=a.10150458052154152.457412.816319151&type=1&theater
Exactly. I am thinking NYC is going to have to use a lot of their budget to liitigate these excesses. Can they afford to? Might be in their interests to rein in their thugs.
the cops are holding their net the wrong way up!
how do they expect anyone to comply with this order?
I second earlier comments along these lines...The guy probably hates women, and the most likely reason he targets women is his inability to perform sexually. Not that he probably gets a lot of chances....
Was his manhood threatened? Why did ihe feel it necessary to spray mace? Anyone know? What security concern did he have. Wall St. wasn't active. Who exactly was threatened by a group of passive women, netted together in a 12 foort square?
They weren't even on or near Wall Street at that point. this was up in Union Square a few miles away.