DA Krasner Statement on Former Officer Charged With Assaulting Protesters on I-676
CONTACT: Jane Roh, 215–686–8711, Jane.Roh@phila.gov
PHILADELPHIA (Oct. 19, 2021) — Following a Court of Common Pleas order granting the Commonwealth’s motion to proceed on criminal charges against former Philadelphia Police Officer Richard Paul Nicoletti (DOB: 5/16/1985), District Attorney Larry Krasner on Tuesday issued the following statement:
“Today, a Court of Common Pleas judge helped ensure that my office is able to apply evenhanded and equal accountability to people who unlawfully inflict harm on others — regardless of their title, status, or official position with the City of Philadelphia. We will continue to proceed with criminal prosecution of former PPD officer Richard Nicoletti, whose actions on June 1, 2020, on I-676, were captured on video and widely shared and viewed by Americans and people around the world.
“Speaking broadly, public confidence in institutions is eroded when people are told by powerful, largely unaccountable figures that something they’ve seen with their own eyes did not actually occur, or is only a problem when just certain people are the doers. The largest and most sustained mass protests against racial and social injustice in American history occurred last year because the people who watched the torturous murder of George Floyd, caught on camera, exercised their constitutionally protected right to protest when told once again not to trust their lying eyes.
“I am grateful today that a Common Pleas judge watched the same video millions of us watched last summer and agreed that this matter should be pursued and resolved in a court of law.”
The Commonwealth will proceed on the following charges against former officer Nicoletti: one count of Possession of an Instrument of Crime (M1) and three counts each of Simple Assault (M2), Recklessly Endangering Another Person (M2), and Official Oppression (M2).
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The Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office is the largest prosecutor’s office in Pennsylvania, and one of the largest in the nation. It serves the more than 1.5 million residents of the City and County of Philadelphia, employing 600 lawyers, detectives, and support staff. The District Attorney’s Office is responsible for prosecution of approximately 40,000 criminal cases annually.
