Philly cop charged with beating Temple student during protest turns himself in

Officer Joseph Bologna turned himself in Monday.
Officer Joseph Bologna turned himself in Monday.

The Philadelphia police staff inspector charged with aggravated assault after he attacked a Temple University student with a metal baton during a protest last week turned himself in early Monday morning.
Joseph Bologna, a 31-year veteran of the force, was caught on film beating the 21-year-old student along the Benjamin Franklin Parkway on Monday, District Attorney Larry Krasner said Friday after days of calls for action against the police officer.
“We are trying to be fair. Accountability has to be equal. This moment demands a swift and evenhanded response to violent and criminal acts based on the facts and evidence,” Krasner said during a press conference.
“Americans are taking to the streets to demand a remaking of political, economic, and legal systems that serve the powerful at the expense of citizens’ health, welfare, and lives. There can be no safety or peace without justice. My office will continue to hold people who cause harm to others equally accountable.”
Bologna will face charges of felony aggravated assault, reckless endangerment, and possession of an instrument of crime, Krasner said.
Video shows the student, Evan Gorski, trying to separate an officer from another protester during Monday’s rally. A second officer, now identified at Bologna, then steps in and begins hitting Gorski with his baton as witnesses scream for him to stop.
Bologna then tackled Gorski to the ground while another officer held him down with a knee to his back.
Gorski’s lawyer, R. Emmett Madden, told the Philadelphia Inquirer that the engineering student required medical treatment.
In a statement, Temple University said it was “extremely disturbed by the violent treatment of a Temple student by a Philadelphia Police officer during a recent off-campus protest.”
Charges against Gorski for allegedly assaulting a police officer by pushing him off a bike have since been dropped, Madden said.
Philadelphia police spokesman Sekou Kinebrew told the Inquirer that “the propriety of the tactics employed will be included in (an) investigation.”
Philadelphia Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw said Friday that an internal affairs investigation has started.
"As a Department, we do not condone the criminal acts of any person, and it is my sincere hope that the District Attorney does, in fact, hold all people who cause harm to others equally accountable," she said in a statement.
“To be clear, the District Attorney’s decision to charge Staff Inspector Bologna does not diminish or detract from the efforts of our many officers who have worked tirelessly for extended hours and under tense and stressful conditions. These officers have demonstrated professionalism, dedication, and an unwavering commitment to our mission during tenuous and often volatile periods.”
Bologna walked into Lodge 5 of the Fraternal Order of Police Monday morning, escorted by his lawyer Fortunato Perri Jr. and police union head John McNesby, according to the Inquirer.
Dozens of his fellow officers showed up in support, applauding him on his way out.

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