An Occupy Wall Street protester who was sucker-punched by an NYPD officer during a chaotic march in October 2011 has filed a lawsuit against the department and the city. We personally witnessed protester Felix Rivera-Pitre get punched by the officer, who was later determined to be Deputy Inspector Johnny Cardona. "The cop just lunged at me full throttle and hit me on the left side of my face," Rivera-Pitre told us that day. "It tore my earring out. I remember seeing my earring on the ground next to me and it was full of blood. I was completely dumbstruck. I'm HIV positive and that cop should get tested."
Cardona was also involved in a highly-publicized incident one month prior, in which he was caught on video grabbing a female protester by the neck and dragging her to the ground, seemingly without provocation. Despite the allegations from Rivera-Pitre, the Manhattan DA's office declined to press charges against Cardona. NYPD spokesman Paul Browne previously said that when Cardona attempted to arrest Rivera-Pitre, "others in the crowd jumped in on the officer," and when Cardona got to his feet, "he was sprayed in the face with an unknown liquid coming from the suspects direction."
The video below shows the incident, and Cardona wiping something from his eyes.
Rivera-Pitre's attorney, the famed civil rights lawyer Ron Kuby, tells DNAinfo, "The assault was a completely well-documented criminal act by a deputy inspector captured on video tape losing his temper and punching someone. The district attorney's office, when they face a tough decision, their method of operation is to pull the covers over their head and hope the scary thing goes away."
The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages.
