A former Philadelphia police officer who pepper sprayed several people on I-676 during the 2020 protests over George Floyd’s murder has pleaded no contest to assault and related crimes, ending a legal saga that captured national attention.
Richard P. Nicoletti, 41, will serve one year of probation in exchange for accepting punishment — but not admitting guilt — in the case.
In addition to assault, prosecutors had accused Nicoletti of reckless endangerment, official oppression, and possessing an instrument of a crime.
The former SWAT officer was one of two Philadelphia police officers charged with crimes for their conduct during that summer’s protest over racial justice and police brutality.
Nicoletti had served 12 years with the police department before he was fired over the incident in 2020. Then-Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw said she was “disgusted” by his conduct and then-Mayor Jim Kenney described his actions as unacceptable.
The Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office first sought to hold Nicoletti accountable in 2021, when prosecutors said his decision to pepper spray several protesters in the face amounted to a crime.
A city judge dismissed the criminal case against him, saying Nicoletti had been authorized by his commanders to clear protesters from the highway, but a different judge soon reinstated the charges.
The case then went before a jury in 2023 and ended in a mistrial.
Prosecutors continued to press the case.
Nicoletti’s lawyers argued that a subsequent trial should be held outside of Philadelphia, where they suggested too many jurors had already formed opinions about the widely publicized demonstrations, which ended with police using tear gas against protesters on the Vine Street Expressway.
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Common Pleas Court Judge Roxanne E. Covington agreed that the case should be moved to another jurisdiction.
Court records show that the case was later moved to Veterans Court, a system designed for people who have served in the military and who have been charged with generally low-level offenses. The court emphasizes treatment and services and is designed to rehabilitate, rather than incarcerate defendants.
Nicoletti served in the Army and was deployed several times to Iraq and Afghanistan, according to a fundraiser circulated to raise money for his defense.
In March, court records show, Nicoletti pleaded no contest to all 10 charges he faced in a proceeding overseen by Municipal Court Judge David C. Shuter.
A spokesperson for the district attorney’s office did not respond to multiple requests for comment on the case and its diversion to Veterans Court.
Nicoletti’s defense attorney, Charles Gibbs, did not immediately return a request for comment Friday.
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