Manhattan prosecutors announced today that they are not pressing charges against an NYPD deputy inspector caught on video pepper spraying the faces of two women protesters at Occupy Wall Street in late 2011.
“The District Attorney’s Office has concluded, after a thorough investigation, that we cannot prove these allegations criminally beyond a reasonable doubt,” DA spokeswoman Erin Duggan said in a written statement.
Deputy Inspector Anthony Bologna had been suspended ten days for the incident. Viral video had shown Bologna spraying the women, who were standing behind orange mesh netting, and the women screaming in pain.
Chaotic circumstances in the minutes before and after the incident created significant doubt as to whether Bologna acted criminally, a law enforcement source expained of the decision not to prosecute.
But the decision outraged attorney Ronald Kuby, who represents Kaylee Dedrick, one of the women. “Despite the overwhelming proof on videotape, seen around the world, Cy Vance Jr. has shown that he will do nothing to disturb his cozy relationship with the police, even in the face of the clearest wrongdoing,” Kuby said.
Dedrick has sued the NYPD in federal court; Kuby said he will ask federal prosecutors and the U.S. Attorney General to conduct independent investigations.