Thursday, March 10, 2022

The Revenge of the Thin Blue Line 16: Police Misconduct? What a Buncha Joey Baloney!

Hey! Remember Philadelphia Police Lt. Joseph Bologna? Old Joey was emblematic of the Police response to public protests over excessive police violence and brutality... i.e. he subjected people to excessive police violence!

But, despite the non-stop lies propagated by Andy Ngo and the rightwing provocateurs about who perpetrated violence in the 2020 protests (unfortunately it appears overwhelmingly it was the Police themselves and outside rightwing agitators).

But, that's what makes protests so enticing for the nascent ground-up fascist movement which is consuming the Right.  Throughout, American history any protest or agitation which has a socialist or left-wing flavor is met with overwhelming force from the Police and the Government with the tactic approval of the norm public.  Examples range from Haymarket Square in 1886 (which created the false sobriquet "Bomb-Throwing Anarchist") to Kent State in 1970, when Nixon and the National Guard opened fire on Anti-War protesters (4 Dead in Ohio).

But, rightwing violence is coddled and encouraged in the United States; one need look no further than the Attempted Republican overthrow of the Government on Jan 6 2021, when elected Republican officials encouraged violence and cheered the crowd of conservative criminals to take over the Capitol and murder Democratic Representatives. 

But, back to Bologna.  In June 2020, Bologna beat a Temple University Evan Gorski on video 
"Bologna turned to Gorski and raised his baton, Gorski backed away and briefly covered his own face with his hand. Bologna then struck him forcefully with the baton."

Gorski recquired 10 staples for his head wound.  Bologna then fabricated a case against Gorski and arrested him for "Battery to PO" and maintained Gorski's injury, after having attacked Officers, was the result of his fall.  Too bad for Joey the video was widely spread.  And while Lt. Bologna is facing charges simple assault and a weapons charge, what he did was deadly force as any Police Department anywhere will have a Use of Force policy which indicates strikes to the head or aimed at the head are deadly force.

Now, of course, right-wingers, despite maintaining one should never trust the government, 100% backed Joey Bologna, accepted his version of events, castigated Gorski and every other person assaulted by Bologna, and wore t-shirts defending his violence.  Well, as the wheels of justice grind slowly former Lt. Bologna is finally facing charges this month from several of his latest victims.

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