An Allegheny County Police officer sued Springdale Borough police Wednesday, claiming he was assaulted and falsely accused after an argument about a blocked street.
County Officer Ray Hrabos said he was concerned enough about his safety after the Feb. 11, 2010, encounter that he temporarily moved out of his native town.
He's not worried about being ostracized for suing fellow officers. "Wrong is wrong, and this needs to be righted," he said in an interview.
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"If this can happen to Officer Hrabos, then who among us is safe from police officers who are willing to lie?" asked attorney Timothy P. O'Brien, who is representing the officer. "Any citizen can be in the same context as Officer Hrabos, where two or three police officers or public officials can fabricate charges if they're willing to state something that wasn't true."
The lawsuit in U.S. District Court names the borough; its police chief, Joseph Naviglia Jr.; Officers Mark Thom, John Walls and Jeremy Liotta; and Councilman Daniel Copeland.
Officer Hrabos, 50, said he was driving home at around 10:30 p.m. when a truck blocked Center Street. He waited, beeped his horn, then exited and asked the driver to please proceed, he said.
In the truck were Officer Walls and Officer Thom, who also were going home after work. They had stopped at the behest of Mr. Copeland, who wanted their approval to leave his car on the street during the snow emergency, because his wife was pregnant, according to testimony in the criminal case against Officer Hrabos.
Officer Hrabos said Officer Thom came out of the truck, yelled at him to return to his car, pulled his firearm and reholstered it, then "walked up, and he hit me right in the throat and I fell back into the snow bank."
Officer Hrabos said he identified himself as a police officer and then threatened to tell the district attorney about Officer Thom, warning another Springdale officer, "He's crazy, he's going to kill somebody."
Officer Hrabos was not arrested and did not report the incident, but weeks later he was charged by Officer Liotta, by mail, with harassment, recklessly endangering another person, terroristic threats and disorderly conduct.
Even before the charges were filed, Officer Hrabos moved in with a friend outside of Springdale. When he picked up his mail, he was tailed by Springdale police, he said.
"They could do anything," he said. "They could put drugs in my car ... Here I am, a police officer, and now I have to look at police cars as I go through town and say, is this a good guy, or a bad guy."
At work, Officer Hrabos was put on desk duty, until District Judge David Sosovicka threw out all but the disorderly conduct charge.
County Common Pleas Judge Robert Gallo dismissed the disorderly conduct charge on appeal, telling both sides the matter "should have been settled that night. ... This is insane to come down here on this case."
The complaint seeks compensation for injuries, costs, emotional distress and damage to Officer Hrabos' reputation. A 19-year veteran of the county police, he worked for the National Security Agency before returning to the region for family reasons.
Copyright 2012 - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
McClatchy-Tribune News Service
