City Says It Will Represent Officer in Occupy Protester’s Lawsuit

Video taken Oct. 14, 2011, shows Deputy Inspector Johnny Cardona appearing to hit a protester.

Following a decision by the Manhattan district attorney not to prosecute a police commander for his actions at Occupy Wall Street protests in 2011, the city said on Monday that it was now in a position to represent him in a federal civil lawsuit.

The Law Department said it had been waiting for a decision on criminal charges from the office of Cyrus R. Vance Jr., the Manhattan district attorney, before stepping forward to represent the commander, Deputy Inspector Johnny Cardona.

“Last week, D.A. Vance closed an investigation of Deputy Inspector Cardona without filing any charges, and the incident is not being investigated by anyone else,” said Michael A. Cardozo, the city’s corporation counsel and top lawyer, in a statement on Monday. “As a result, the Law Department is now able to defend him in the pending civil court action.”

Court papers filed earlier this month in the suit did not describe any representation for the commander, Deputy Inspector Johnny Cardona, and the Law Department said that its lawyers were not in a position to represent him “at the present time.”

Mr. Cardona is named in a federal lawsuit brought by one protester, Felix Rivera-Pitre, who alleges that he was punched in the face during pitched street confrontations between protesters and the police in Lower Manhattan in October 2011.

He is one of two high-ranking police officers facing federal lawsuits stemming from their actions during the Occupy Wall Street protests. The other, Deputy Inspector Anthony Bologna, is accused of indiscriminately pepper-spraying protesters. In that case, the Police Department found that Mr. Bologna had violated its guidelines. As a result, the Law Department is not representing him in his civil suit.

On Friday, Mr. Vance’s office said that after a lengthy investigation it would not file any criminal charges in either matter.

Ronald Kuby, a lawyer for Mr. Rivera-Pitre, said that the continuing investigation by Mr. Vance’s office had made it “difficult for us to obtain materials” related to the case from prosecutors. Mr. Kuby added, “Presumably someone told Vance that he was actually hurting Cardona because the city would not represent him, so Vance announced his phony investigation was over and the city flipped like a pancake.”

Video shot at the protests made both men symbols for those who saw excessive force in the police response to the Occupy protesters.

In the case of Mr. Cardona, several videos shot from different angles on Oct. 14, 2011, appeared to show the inspector grabbing Mr. Rivera-Pitre as he was walking away from him and punching him in the face. The police said at the time that Mr. Rivera-Pitre had earlier attempted to elbow Inspector Cardona and was being sought for attempted assault.

“While I am pleased with the decision to indemnify Deputy Inspector Cardona, it highlights the perversion of the Law Department review process where any possible excuse is identified to abandon an officer who is sued as a result of his taking action in the performance of duty,” said Roy T. Richter, the president of the Captain’s Endowment Union, which represents high-ranking officers.

He also criticized the city for declining to represent Mr. Bologna, calling it “an equal injustice and one that should be corrected in light of the district attorney’s review.”