Former Police Officer Convicted of Punching Man and Breaking His Nose

The officer, Juan Perez, faces up to 364 days in jail for assault. The victim, who later killed himself in Kosovo, had been throwing water at passers-by.

A former New York City police officer was found guilty of one count of assault for punching a man in the face six times in Greenwich Village, the Manhattan district attorney’s office said Thursday.

The officer, Juan Perez, then 42, had been responding to a report about a person acting erratically in November 2021, according to the May 2023 indictment. When Mr. Perez found the man, Borim Husenaj, he appeared to be intoxicated and refused to sit when Mr. Perez asked him to. They got into a physical struggle and fell to the ground, according to the indictment; Mr. Perez then hit Mr. Husenaj repeatedly, breaking his nose and causing him to lose consciousness for at least one minute.

Mr. Perez, who worked in the Sixth Precinct and retired in 2023, was charged with third-degree assault and pleaded not guilty. On Thursday, he was found guilty by a judge, Maxwell Wiley, after a bench trial. He will be sentenced in September and faces up to 364 days in jail, the Manhattan district attorney’s office said.

Law enforcement officers have “important positions of trust in our city, and holding accountable those who violate that trust is essential for lasting public safety,” Alvin L. Bragg, the district attorney, said in a statement.

Prosecutors in Manhattan have at times pursued charges against police officers for misconduct, but have largely considered misconduct a violation of departmental rules rather than a crime. Mr. Bragg, who has made police accountability a focus during his tenure, has taken a more aggressive tack.

Stuart London, Mr. Perez’s lawyer, said on Thursday that the officer had “responded to that location to help an individual.”