Lawyer For Woman Pepper Sprayed At Occupy Wall Street March Demands Charges Against NYPD Official
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- The lawyer for a woman who was pepper sprayed last month during the Wall Street protest is demanding that the Manhattan district attorney prosecute an NYPD deputy inspector on an assault charge.
Attorney Ronald Kuby sent a letter to prosecutors Tuesday on behalf of teacher's aide Kaylee Dedrick.
Photos: Wall Street Protests Continue
Deputy Inspector Anthony Bologna is said to be the officer who used pepper spray on women who were already cordoned off by a mesh barrier in Union Square.
Video of the incident that was posted on YouTube shows an officer blasting a cluster of women with pepper spray. Two of the women crumple on the sidewalk in pain. One screams. The officer's white shirt indicates a rank of lieutenant or above. Kuby says Dedrick is shown on her knees, "screaming in pain.''
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Last month, protestors marched to One Police Plaza in Lower Manhattan, saying they were fighting against "police brutality and harassment."
"Police brutality in New York is a little crazy right now — those girls got maced," one man told 1010 WINS' Jones. "That's part of the reason that I came out..."
After the pepper spraying incident, Bologna was given 24-hour protection at his home on Staten Island after the hacker group "Anonymous" put out his name and personal details in a vague warning online which stated:
"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 behavior. 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!"
The NYPD said the pepper spray was used properly against people trying to interfere with police attempting to disperse a crowd and that all Occupy Wall Street arrests have been justified.
The office of District Attorney Cyrus Vance declined comment.
Commissioner Raymond Kelly said the matter is being investigated by police internal affairs and the Civilian Complaint Review Board.
Kelly said previously that the video left out tumultuous conduct by protesters who illegally tried to block streets.
Meanwhile, Mayor Michael Bloomberg says he can understand the frustration expressed by the Occupy Wall Street protesters and vowed to protect their First Amendment rights, but said he doesn't like some of the "bashing" of the people who live and work in New York City.
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"I don't appreciate the bashing of all the hard-working people who live here and pay the taxes that support our city," he said. "The realization is our city depends on the financial services industries provide that's one of the industries that people have complained about."
The mayor says that the tax revenue the financial industry provides pays for teachers, police officers and firefighters.
Hundreds of Occupy Wall Street protesters took their demonstration from Zuccotti Park to Park Avenue on Tuesday, delivering their message to the homes of some of the city's wealthiest residents.
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