johnny cardona

The protestor he punched got a $55K settlement.

Deputy Inspector Johnny Cardona, who violently struck protester Felix Rivera-Pitre in the face for no discernible reason, will meet with City attorneys this week to discuss his legal strategy.

The Manhattan DA's office has announced that it will not prosecute the NYPD officer who appeared to pepper spray Occupy Wall Street protesters without provocation in a widely seen video.

Deputy Inspector Johnny Cardona sucker punched protester Felix Rivera-Pitre in front of a million flashing cameras.

It's unclear what the legal observer was charged with, but NYCLU's Communications Director Jennifer Carnig confirmed that those charges were dropped at around 9:15 p.m.

"The outright lies of Deputy Commissioner Browne have been conclusively refuted….Someone needs to send a message that the conduct engaged in by Bologna and Cardona is criminal."

Prosecutors met with Kuby and Rivera-Pitre for two hours, reviewing video, and authorities told them that their investigation would continue, and that no arrests would be made until it concluded.

The protester will not be charged when he meets with the Manhattan DA's office about being punched by Deputy Inspector Johnny Cardona.

Deputy Inspector Anthony Bologna, who was twice caught on tape discharging pepper spray on protesters has been reassigned from his post at Manhattan South to a special projects coordinator in Staten Island, where he lives.

One organizer said, "This is the first time the D.A is targeted by Occupy Wall Street… We need to hold the police accountable" for their actions against protesters.