Cop who punched woman in video: 'It's not what it appears to be'

Millions have seen the muscular Josey land a blow to the face of the thin mother of three that bloodied her mouth and knocked her to the pavement on 5th Street.

The fallout led Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey to fire Josey, and the District Attorney's Office charged him with simple assault, a misdemeanor. A disorderly conduct charge against Guzman was dropped.

Josey, in a gray suit and purple bow tie, testified that he thought Guzman had thrown beer on him during a wild street gathering at 5th Street and Lehigh Avenue following the annual parade.

When he approached and told her to put down the beer bottle she was holding, he said, she turned away and tried to walk off.

Fearing she would use the bottle as a weapon, Josey said, he swung at it and tried to knock it from her hand.

"I was kind of in shock," he said, under questioning by his attorney, Fortunato Perri Jr. "I didn't expect her to go down or make contact with any part of her body."

Although the video "looks disturbing," he said, "it's not what it appears to be."

Under questioning from Assistant District Attorney Sybil Murphy, Josey conceded that he never saw Guzman throw beer at him. When asked why he had said that Guzman injured her mouth when her face hit the street during the arrest, Josey said he did not see her face hit the ground, but "I would assume that's how she got injured."

Guzman, through a Spanish interpreter, said that she threw no liquid at anyone but did shoot aerosol string into the crowd.

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