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Woman Punched By Philly Cop Gets Apology From Mayor Nutter

By Mike Dunn
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- In a private meeting today, Mayor Nutter delivered a personal apology to the Chester, Pa. woman who was struck in the face last weekend by a Philadelphia police officer.

The incident was caught on video (see related story) and garnered national attention.

Aida Guzman, along with two attorneys, met for about fifteen minutes behind closed doors today with Mayor Nutter at City Hall, during which they embraced and the mayor apologized.

Afterward she spoke briefly with reporters, saying the mayor's apology made her feel better:

"Yeah, he apologized to me, and I feel good for that."

"It was a very heartfelt meeting, we're very happy with the meeting," said her attorney, Enrique Latoison.

Still, Guzman, 39, said she remains scared of being in Philadelphia because of the incident.

Latoison said the meeting brought a conclusion to the matter, though he refused to rule out possible civil litigation against the city on behalf of Guzman.

Mayor Nutter, for his part, said lawsuits were not a topic of the conversation.

"It never came up," the mayor said.   "This was about a person, about a human being, who had been injured here in our city in a very graphic way.  And I wanted to take a moment, when the opportunity presented itself, just to talk to her."

The officer who struck Guzman, Lt. Jonathan Josey, has been suspended with intent to dismiss (see related story).  The Philadelphia district attorney's office has not yet said whether Josey might face criminal charges.

Charges against Guzman stemming from the incident have been dropped.

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