An NYPD police officer accused of punching an unruly man inside an Apple Store on the Upper West Side three years ago has been acquitted, police union representatives announced Thursday.
Manhattan prosecutors in October 2021 charged police officer Salvatore Provenzano with third-degree assault for punching a man as Provenzano tried to kick him out of a 1981 Broadway store. He filed charges and caused a confrontation that was caught on camera.
PBA Chairman Patrick Hendry said in a statement that Provenzano was “just doing his job” to protect the public from repeat offenses. Union leaders were aggressive about prosecuting Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg from the beginning.
“We are grateful that the court recognized reality and acquitted him, but unfortunately a lot of damage has been done,” Hendry said. He worries that their careers will also be derailed by the baseless accusations.
“Manhattan prosecutors need to stop wasting time and resources targeting police officers over nonsense and start working with us to address real public safety issues.”
Prosecutors have proposed dropping the charge to second-degree harassment, which would keep the officer out of jail and without a criminal record.
But Mr. Provenzano, a 17-year military veteran, rejected the deal, maintained his innocence and took his chances in a judge’s trial.
“My client is satisfied that the judge saw through this and understood that this was not an assault incident at all. It’s just a public official protecting himself,” said Provenzano’s attorney, Stu London. the attorney told the Post Thursday.
“It was a very minor incident, but unfortunately it’s made things worse for the Manhattan DA’s office,” he continued, adding that the man Provenzano wrestled with suffered no injuries from the punch. He added that there was not.
“I question why the Manhattan DA brought this case in the first place.”
But despite the acquittal, Acting Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Maxwell Wiley told the court that prosecutors did not err in filing the case, according to the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office.
“We work closely with the NYPD every day and have tremendous respect for our officers in uniform,” Attorney Alvin Bragg said in a statement. “We appreciate the prosecutors’ hard work and Judge Wiley’s careful and thoughtful consideration of this matter.”
Provenzano is seen on his body camera punching the man as he tries to pull him away from the officer during the scuffle.
The man was also charged the same day, but the case was later sealed.
Mr. Bragg’s office convened a grand jury that later indicted Mr. Provenzano on a charge of third-degree assault, a charge punishable by up to a year in prison.
Prosecutors proposed lowering the charges because Provenzano fired only one shot, the victim was not seriously injured, and the officer had no history of violence.
But the police officer dismissed it.
“My client believed he was seriously about to be hit, but there was one punch,” London told the court in July last year.
London also claimed that the alleged victim had previously pursued store security and been banned from at least one other Apple Store.
“All this officer was doing was trying to provide protection.” [the man] out of the place,” London added at a press conference outside the courthouse.
“When he put his hand on his elbow to leave, [the man] Immediately throwing his arms back and tensing his body, this officer reasonably thought that he was going to get hit and punched him once, but he fell down without any injury. ”
