x
Breaking News
More () »

Alleged Police Brutality Case Going to Trial

WILKES-BARRE — A man who claims he was beaten by seven Pennsylvania state troopers will now have his day in court. Robert Leone of Vestal, New York has th...

WILKES-BARRE -- A man who claims he was beaten by seven Pennsylvania state troopers will now have his day in court.

Robert Leone of Vestal, New York has the police video of his 2010 arrest that he claims shows police brutality.

Leone says he was beaten at the scene and then again at the hospital before he was charged in a scuffle that began as a slow speed chase near Towanda. His supporters say the police video will be his best evidence.

Friends of Leone say state police wanted to pull him over in March 2010 because his car looked like one in a reported hit and run.

After his car was stopped on Route 6 near Towanda, Leone`s friends say officers dragged him out. Video appears to show a trooper jumping from the car`s roof and landing on Leone, who was lying face down.

Wilkes-Barre attorney Barry Dyller looked at the video recorded from a state police cruiser.

“They can`t use more force than is reasonably necessary.  And it certainly appears to me in that case, that police were using more force than necessary,” Dyller said.

After the scuffle, police hauled Leone to the backseat of a cruiser, where his lawsuit claims he was beaten and intimidated.

Police took Leone to the hospital where he was treated and then moved to the Bradford County jail.

Leone is now fighting back by suing seven state troopers in federal court.

“This is about exposing rogue officers,” said former Luzerne borough police officer Larry Hohol.

Hohol is helping Leone in his legal fight. Hohol says Leone should have pulled over during the slow speed chase, but at the same time, he's critical of a Bradford County jury that in 2012 convicted Leone on four of 24 criminal charges. The former officer is also critical of the state police internal investigation.

“They knew what was happening and they exonerated the troopers. That`s the problem,” Hohol said.

”It`s now becoming clear to the public that these bad things do happen and sometimes police are at fault,” said Dyller.

According to those close to Robert Leone, not a single state trooper was disciplined.

State police told Newswatch 16 they had no comment at this time.

Leone's lawsuit is scheduled to go to trial in federal court in Wilkes-Barre Monday.

Before You Leave, Check This Out