Man files civil rights complaint vs. police in New Castle
A Slippery Rock man whose brutal arrest by New Castle Police was captured on video and resulted in the firing of a veteran officer has filed a federal civil rights complaint against the city and two officers involved in the incident.
Perry Lawry, 49, filed the complaint Thursday morning, alleging that New Castle Police Patrolman Ronald Williams and Patrolman Peter Mendincino violated his Fourth and 14th Amendment rights on April 23, when they were dispatched to an apartment on East Washington Street in New Castle for a domestic disturbance.
In arresting documents filed in Lawrence County, police charged Lawry with misdemeanor counts of simple assault and resisting arrest and a summary count of harassment after what Williams said was a chaotic scene inside the apartment of Lawry's girlfriend, Toni Kelly.
Williams, in court documents, said he arrived at the apartment to find Mendincino wrestling with Lawry, who was allegedly trying to crawl toward a counter with two knives laying on it.
Williams said he stunned Lawry, who police say was “very intoxicated,” three times with a Taser, to no effect, at which point he grabbed Lawry — who was on his stomach and still resisting — by the shoulders and “gave him three thrusts shoving his chest and head into the floor until he stop (sic) resisting ...”
Police then called paramedics to tend to Lawry who, according to court documents, had “a laceration to his forehead caused from the floor.”
Police say they were called to the apartment after Lawry came home drunk and started fighting with Kelly's son. The boy told police that he was at the sink washing dishes when Lawry made a comment about him “actually doing the dishes” and grabbed him by the throat. The boy told police that he punched Lawry several times until he let go.
The boy also recorded a portion of Lawry's arrest with his cell phone, video of which was later posted online. The video appears to show an officer smashing a man face-first into the floor several times, after which the man stops moving.
The video's posting resulted in Williams, a 10-year veteran of the department, being placed on leave a day after Lawry's arrest. The department also convened an internal investigation of the incident and ultimately fired Williams, after a panel of New Castle Police Department officers unanimously voted that his actions “were not within the department's policies and procedures pertaining to use of force.”
At a news conference Thursday, Lawry's attorney, Al Lindsay of Butler, disputed the department's account of the incident. He said Lawry had not been resisting officers or going for a knife.
“He did nothing. He was punched by his girlfriend's son, and he was charged with resisting arrest,” Lindsay said.
Lindsay also disputed the department's account of Lawry's injuries, saying his nose was “practically taken off,” and that Lawry lost an eyebrow and likely suffered a concussion during his arrest. He said Lawry cannot work, has daily pain and also suffers from “certain deficits” because of his injuries.
“He's certainly not in a position where he's whole,” Lindsay said.
Lawry, who was present at Thursday's news conference, declined to speak when asked for comment.Lindsay said the lawsuit, which seeks unspecified monetary damages, comes amid an “epidemic” of police violence in the region.“We are seeing an increased amount of police violence in Western Pennsylvania,” Lindsay said. “It's an epidemic. What we see is, the police are out of control. I think all of these municipalities, including the state, need to look at what's going on.”Lawry's complaint, which was filed under Section 1983 of the federal Civil Rights Act, accuses Williams and Mendincino of conspiracy, false arrest and imprisonment and intentional infliction of emotional distress.The document also accuses Williams of assault and battery.The City of New Castle also is named as a defendant in the suit, which claims the municipality “failed to adequately train and supervise the (officer) that inflicted the injuries” to Lawry.Lawry's personal attorney, Louis Pomerico, said his client is scheduled to go before Magisterial District Judge Melissa Amodie on May 30, for a preliminary hearing on the charges related to his April 23 arrest.New Castle Police Chief Robert Salem declined to comment on the lawsuit Thursday.New Castle solicitor Jason Medure did not return messages left Thursday seeking comment.
