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| Anthony V. Bologna | |
|---|---|
| Occupation | New York City police officer |
Deputy Inspector Anthony Bologna is a New York City police officer best known for allegedly macing peaceful protesters associated with the "#OccupyWallStreet" movement and also for allegedly committing civil rights violations during protests surrounding the 2004 Republican National Convention.
Career
At age 20 Anthony Bologna started out at CCNY hoping to become a teacher, but New York City was laying off teachers at that time due to budget cuts. He worked part time in a deli in Port Richmond, Staten Island, eventually buying out the owner. Policemen eating in the deli convinced him to take the test to become a policemen in 1982, a year in which the city was recovering financially and accepted 3000 cadets to its Police Academy.
Bologna became a police officer in 1982, initially serving on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, before being Transferred to Brooklyn He later earned a B.S. from John Jay College and completed a law enforcement professionals program at the FBI National Academy before being promoted to Captain in 1998 and becoming acting commanding officer of the Manhattan South Borough Command's Task Force in 2000, and being named Commanding officer of the first Precinct in 2005. After five years in this position, he became a Borough Executive in 2010. On his departure the president of the First Precinct Community Council said of him for a local paper, "He’s done a wonderful job. Whenever residents came and asked for his help, he always helped out."
Bologna has also served in the NYPD's Internal Affairs Unit
Military Service
Bologna has served in the U.S. Coast Guard Reserve, where he held the rank of chief petty officer, inspecting ships arriving in New York Harbor.
Treatment of protesters
Disputes with protesters in several events culminated in a burst of media coverage of Bologna's actions during the Occupy Wall Street event in September 2011.
Bologna was on duty during a boycott of Korean grocery stores by black activists in 1990 and during the Crown Heights Riots of 1992
A May 2001 Indymedia report, subsequently cited by Cryptome, called Bologna "notorious for his previous treatment of protesters", and described an allegation by a member of People's Law Collective that Bologna shoved two protesters, left, then returned to arrest them.
In 2004, Bologna faced civil rights complaints for his role during the Republican Convention held in New York City, allegedly committing false arrest and civil rights violations. Several lawsuits were filed.
On September 24, 2011, video was widely publicized which showed Bologna apparently macing peaceful, young female members of the "#OccupyWallStreet" protest movement on September 24, 2011 without any visible provocation.
According to NYPD Chief Spokesman Paul J. Browne, Bologna used pepper spray "appropriately," adding "Pepper spray was used once, after individuals confronted officers and tried to prevent them from deploying a mesh barrier — something that was edited out or otherwise not captured in the video."
Members of the Occupy Wall Street protest movement responded to this by releasing additional videos from several angles. A second video posted to The Daily Kos, apparently taken seconds later, showed Bologna spraying a photographer wearing a press card, who later said Bologna told him to leave the area and that he could be arrested.
References
- ^ Fallows, James (September 25, 2011). "An Important Video to Watch: Pepper-Spray by a Cruel and Cowardly NYC Cop". The Atlantic Monthly.
- ^ McVeigh, Karen (September 27, 2011). "Occupy Wall Street: 'Pepper-spray' officer named in Bush protest claim". The Guardian (UK). The Guardian.
- ^ Amateau, Albert (June 24, 2005). "New captain busted pushers, gangsters and cops". Downtown Express.
- Shapiro, Julie (May 4, 2010). "Commanding Officer Leaves First Precinct After Five Years of Service". DNAinfo.com.
- Julie Shapiro (2010-05-04). "Commanding Officer Leaves First Precinct After Five Years of Service". DNAinfo.com.
- Aries de la Cruz (2001-05). "POLICE BLAMED FOR INCITING MAYDAY RIOT IN NYC. AGAIN".
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - Read, Max (September 26, 2011). "Pepper Spray Cop Already Had Civil-Rights Complaint". Gawker.com.
- "Hackers grab Goldman CEO's personal data". CBS News. September 27, 2011.
- Adam Martin. "Pepper Spray Cop Has a History of Tangling with Protesters". Atlantic Wire.
- Goldstein, Joseph (September 25, 2011). "Videos Show Police Using Pepper Spray at Protest on the Financial System". The New York Times.
- "Officer Bologna" Occupy Wall Street website, September 26, 2011
- Al Baker and Joseph Goldstein (2011-09-28). "Officer's Pepper-Spraying of Protesters Is Under Investigation". New York Times.