PA Man Files Suit Against Pennsylvania State Police

July 9th, 2012 by admin

He was beaten to a pulp after a “low speed” police chase. The video of his beating went viral. Now Robert Leone is serving a prison sentence for the events of that night and has most recently filed a federal lawsuit.

According to the Huffington Post, the video of Leone’s beating shows a cop standing on the hood of his car, jumping onto Leone’s back. He is kicked, punched, and berated.

The arrest took place in March 2010 when he was chased down, tasered, and hog tied. Leone would eventually be convicted of assault on an officer and three other charges.

The assault he was convicted of? His skull assaulted an officer’s hand. No, really. An officer punched him in the skull, resulting in a broken hand.

In the video, officers curse at Leone and ask him, “Who do you think you’re messing with?”

Even after he was taken to the hospital and lying on a gurney, he was further assaulted with a Taser.

Leone has already served some of a four year sentence and was granted parole in March. But, he remains incarcerated because there’s no “agreement on where he’d stay if released,” according to the Huff Post.

His family believes the police want to see him stay in prison until the statute of limitations runs out on the cops, preventing them from facing criminal charges themselves.

Perhaps not surprisingly:

Citing the pending litigation, Maria Finn, Spokesperson for the Pennsylvania State Police refused to answer any questions from The Huffington Post on the case, including whether any of the officers involved will face criminal charges or if any of them are still on duty. She also declined to address the accusation that authorities want to keep Leone in jail so that the troopers won’t be sanctioned.

How common is police brutality like this? To this extreme, probably pretty rare. But the truth is, we don’t hear about all of the cases of brutality or even questionable uses of force. Many such cases are brushed under the rug, quite frankly, because the victim rarely has the means to call attention to his plight.

The police usually act with integrity. But when they don’t, it doesn’t only put you at risk for physical harm, but criminal charges that can result in lengthy prison sentences.

If you are accused of assaulting a law enforcement officer, fleeing to avoid arrest, or any other criminal charge, we may be able to help.

Call us today for a free consultation and some potentially valuable legal advice.