PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — A Pennsylvania appeals court sided with a former Philadelphia police officer who was charged by the district attorney with assault of a protester.
The Pennsylvania Superior Court said prosecutors have not shown there is enough evidence to hold aggravated assault and reckless endangerment charges against former Philadelphia Staff Inspector Joseph Bologna.
Bologna was charged days after a social media video showed him on patrol during civil unrest on June 1, 2020, along the Benjamin Franklin Parkway. He was initially charged with first- and second-degree aggravated assault, simple assault, reckless endangerment and possession of an instrument in a crime.
District Attorney Larry Krasner says Bologna struck a protester with a metal baton, causing a massive head wound.
But the court said prosecutors didn’t show evidence of second-degree aggravated assault, saying the protester was struck at the base of his neck, not his head, when he tried to interfere with an arrest.
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“The video depicts appellee [Bologna] making a single strike with his baton to thwart a protestor’s attempt to interfere with an arrest, not cause him to suffer serious bodily injury,” the court ruling said.
The protester admitted as much during Bologna’s first preliminary hearing, but said he was injured by the baton and had to get about a dozen staples in his head.
Bologna’s attorney called a doctor from the Philadelphia Department of Public Health who testified the wounds were not caused by the baton, but instead when the two men fell during the scuffle.
“Since appellee only struck Gorski one time near the base of the neck and did not continue to engage in combative conduct once on the ground, we find that the trial court did not err when it found that the Commonwealth failed to establish a prima facie case of the intent elements of first-degree and second-degree felony aggravated assault,” the ruling said.
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The trial court dismissed the first- and second-degree aggravated assault charges. Prosecutors refiled, but again, the judge didn’t uphold those charges.
Bologna is still charged with simple assault and possession of an instrument of crime. He abruptly retired after being charged nearly three years ago.
A spokesperson for Krasner said they had no comment. The District Attorney’s Office may appeal to the Supreme Court.
The protester has sued the city, Bologna and other officers, but it’s unclear whether that lawsuit has settled.
CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story referred to Joseph Bologna as a former chief inspector. He was a staff inspector. The article has been updated to reflect the change.