Joseph Bologna, the police officer charged with aggravated assault after he hit a student protester with a baton, was applauded and saluted by dozens of Philadelphia police officers Monday before turning himself in, reports Fox 29 News.
Bologna, a 31-year Philadelphia police veteran who rose through the ranks to become a staff inspector, was pulled from the force last Thursday after a video surfaced of him viciously beating a Temple University student with a baton during protests stemming from the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis in police custody.
District Attorney Larry Krasner charged Bologna with felony aggravated assault Friday. The city's police union chief, John McNesby, accused Krasner of carrying out an "anti-police agenda."
"He never, ever even came close to the head, it was shoulder strike, it's what we are trained to do," he said. "The proper procedures were followed. Our guidelines were followed."
Bologna's attorney, Fortunato Perri Jr., said Bologna's use of force was justified.
"Inspector Bologna and his fellow officers were spit on, sprayed with urine and other chemicals, as well as verbally and physically assaulted. His use of force to apprehend an individual, who was trying to thwart a lawful arrest during a melee, was lawful and justified," he said in a statement.
A spokesperson for FOP Lodge 5 told BuzzFeed News there were "several hundred active police officers, retirees, and other supporters at FOP in support of Inspector Bologna" on Monday.
Solange Reyner ✉
Solange Reyner is a writer and editor for Newsmax. She has more than 15 years in the journalism industry reporting and covering news, sports and politics.
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