Charge Dropped Against Pa. State Police trooper, One Remains

Nov. 11--One of two charges filed against a Franklin County state police corporal accused of assaulting a handcuffed man was thrown out after a preliminary hearing this week in Fulton County.

Magisterial District Judge Wendy Mellott dismissed the second-degree misdemeanor charge of official oppression against Christian Fow, according to online court records.

A simple assault charge, also a second-degree misdemeanor, was upheld.

Fow, 43, Shippensburg, remains suspended without pay from the Pennsylvania State Police since he was initially charged Oct. 11. He is accused of hitting and pepper spraying Christopher Broadwater, 52, who was handcuffed and secured in the back of a police car Sept. 29, 2010 at his Fannett Township home.

Private attorneys Eric Weisbrod and Geoffrey McInroy are representing Fow. The Pennsylvania Attorney General's Office has appointed Senior Deputy Attorney General Anthony Wayne Forray as special prosecutor for the case.

The preliminary hearing was held before Mellott in Fulton County Monday because all of Franklin County's magisterial district judges had recused themselves due to a potential conflict of interest.

McInroy said the hearing lasted about five hours. The prosecution called five witnesses and showed about 30 minutes of video footage captured by an in-car camera system. No witnesses testified for the defense.

Troopers Ralph Hockenberry and David Rush and Sgt. Randy Kane of the Chambersburg barracks testified during

the hearing. Richard Schur, an EMT who responded to Broadwater's home, and Special Agent Dan Hasenauer of the attorney general's office also took the stand.

Broadwater did not appear at all for the preliminary hearing, McInroy said.

According to affidavits filed in the case, troopers took Broadwater into custody for a mental health evaluation after he allegedly threatened to harm his auto mechanic and police. He was Tased, handcuffed and placed in the car before Fow arrived.

The video shows Fow approaching the rear of the car and opening the door, then Broadwater turns his head toward the corporal. He began saying "trying to get some relief," at which point he was pepper sprayed and started screaming "Oh, God!"

Broadwater turned his face down, out of the camera's view and facing Fow, who is heard saying, "Stop (expletive) with the (expletive) handcuffs! Do you understand?"

According to the affidavit, Fow paused after saying the word "stop" and "a smacking sound is heard." The corporal told Hasenauer that he "checked" the man in the head.

"Broadwater immediately reacted to the impact and pepper spray by screaming wildly and moving away from Fow's position," the affidavit states. When he came back into the camera's view, blood was dripping from his face.

The footage shows Broadwater releasing his seat belt, moving toward the open door and getting out of the car, according to the affidavit. He told Public Opinion he fell out of the car.

"I feel as though the evidence put forth by the commonwealth did not establish that Cpl. Fow intentionally or knowingly committed a simple assault," McInroy said. "In fact, whatever force he used was in an effort to prevent the attempted escape that he perceived to be underway."

Broadwater was charged with assaulting one of the arresting troopers, resisting arrest and attempted escape.

He pleaded no contest in April to simple assault and resisting arrest, both second-degree misdemeanors. The aggravated assault charge was withdrawn and the Franklin County District Attorney's Office elected not to purse the attempted escape charge.

In the charging documents filed against Fow, prosecutors alleged that he committed official oppression by assaulting Broadwater, then instructing another trooper to charge him with attempted escape to cover up the assault. Mellott determined there was not enough evidence to uphold the charge.

"We respect the decision and we're proceeding toward trial with the assault charge," said attorney general's spokesperson Nils Frederiksen.

Fow's lawyers said police and the responding EMT testified Monday that it appeared Broadwater was attempting to escape.

"When the dust settles and fact finders ultimately look at this case and the circumstances surrounding it, we believe that it will be clear that these charges against Corporal Fow were wholly unfounded and perhaps initiated in retaliation against Corporal Fow for his union activities," McInroy said.

The attorney said his client previously served as union president for the Chambersburg barracks. He declined to elaborate on what specific "union activities" he was referring to.

"He was a successful representative of his union in a couple of significant and high profile decisions, and that was not a popular outcome with the higher ups in the Pennsylvania State Police organization," McInroy said.

Fow's arraignment in Franklin County's Court of Common Pleas has not been scheduled yet.

------

Jim Tuttle can be reached at [email protected] or at 262-4754.

Copyright 2011 - Public Opinion, Chambersburg, Pa.