During the chaotic Occupy Wall Street march through the financial district this morning, we witnessed a protester on William Street get punched in the face by a police officer, seemingly without provocation. He says the officer hit him so hard his earring got knocked out, but he managed to escape arrest. We caught up with the protester later: his name is Felix Rivera-Pitre, and he told us what happened and how he got away.

Rivera-Pitre, who is HIV positive and used to be a dancer, tells us he was walking a little bit in front of the police on William Street, and admits he "shot the cop a look." But then, according to Rivera-Pitre (and this is in line with what we witnessed), "The cop just lunged at me full throttle and hit me on the left side of my face. It tore my earring out. I remember seeing my earring on the ground next to me and it was full of blood. I was completely dumbstruck. I'm HIV positive and that cop should get tested."

Asked how he escaped, Rivera-Pitre says, "The cops were pulling me by my feet and the crowd was pulling me by my hands, and I was suspended in the air. But there were more people than cops, and they pulled me out." The police were seen searching for Rivera-Pitre in the crowd, but somehow he managed to slip away.

Rivera-Pitre said he was participating in march because "my housing has been affected by the economy." He currently lives at the YMCA at Jamaica Queens, works for Vocal New York, and tries to get by on $300 a month now that his health benefits have been cut back. But after meeting Rivera-Pitre, now we're all confused—aren't all the Occupy Wall Street protesters supposed to be trust fund hippies who dropped out of Sarah Lawrence?

Update:Animal New York published this video which appears to show what happened just before Rivera-Pitre was allegedly slugged in the face. At the 1:30 mark, an officer in a white shirt approaches Rivera-Pitre from behind, touches his arm, and tells him, "Get on the sidewalk." Rivera-Pitre does indeed "shoot him a look"... and then the camera pans away. Cue horrified screaming and unified chanting "THE WHOLE WORLD IS WATCHING!"

Occupy Wall Street’s “Victory” March Video from ANIMALnewyork.com on Vimeo.

Update: A reader named Sarah R. has this to say, via an email which we're publishing in its entirety: