Monessen man sues police over use of force in 2015 incident
A Monessen man has filed a federal lawsuit against California University of Pennsylvania, California Borough and members of their police departments after an alleged civil right violation at an event at the university.
Attorney Steven M. Toprani filed the lawsuit on behalf of his client, Charles Mrlack Jr. The suit also names Cal U police Chief Edward McSheffery and Officers Donald Gettig and Steve Orbin, and California Borough police Chief Rick Encapera and Officers Daniel Sturm, Alyssa Brown and Tom McCarthy.
The suit claims that Mrlack was attending a boxing match at the Convocation Center at Cal U on Sept. 15, 2015.
At the center’s concession stand, Mrlack located several friends in the line and started conversing with them when he was called to the front of the line to buy drinks for them, Toprani wrote.
After Mrlack moved to the front of the line, Gettig approached him and demanded that he leave the area, but Mrlack showed the officer his money and told him he was there to purchase drinks for friends, the suit stated.
Toprani alleged Gettig grabbed Mrlack by his right forearm and shoulder and pulled him from the line. When Mrlack questioned why they approached him, Gettig and McCarthy grabbed him and drove him into a nearby wall, Toprani wrote.
The campus officers then forced Mrlack down to the ground and locked him in a choke hold and placed their knees on his upper body, according to the suit.
The filing claimed that Mrlack was taunted and jeered by the officers, including McCarthy and Brown.
Mrlack claimed he was handcuffed to the point where he felt pain, the suit contended, and also was in pain from being jostled around by police.
Mrlack complained about his pain for an hour while in a holding cell, but the suit alleged the officers mocked him and refused to offer any aid or medical attention and yelled at him to stop moving when he tried to adjust himself on the bench for comfort.
The suit claimed that Mrlack was dizzy and lost consciousness due to bleeding, but the officers told him no medical assistance would come.
Topriani wrote that an unknown person summoned emergency treatment, Mrlack’s head wound was bandaged, and he was transported to Monongahela Valley Hospital for treatment of a concussion, laceration to his scalp, various tissue wounds and bruising.
Summary citations were filed against Mrlack, but during the preliminary hearing before Magisterial District Judge Joshua Kanalis, Gettig said he was going to file more serious criminal charges against Mrlack, including resisting arrest.
The criminal complaint filed against Mrlack stated that the concession stand attendant refused to serve him because he appeared intoxicated and became physically combative and had to be forced to the ground.
Topriani stated in the suit that the story was fabricated as there were multiple surveillance cameras and cellphones that recorded the incident.
Topriani wrote that the charges against Mrlack were resolved in a non-jury trial in common pleas court, and court documents show that Mrlack pleaded guilty to the charges of disorderly conduct and public drunkenness without any further penalty. The charge of resisting arrest was not listed in common pleas court records.
Mrlack is seeking judgment in the amount in excess of $75,000 plus interest, legal fees, punitive damages and any other relief the court decides.