Attorney files civil lawsuit after Pittsburgh-area dentist fatally shot himself inside police vehicle
CENTER TOWNSHIP, Pa. (KDKA) — A civil rights attorney filed a federal civil lawsuit after a well-known Beaver County dentist died by suicide in the back of a police vehicle.
Arpad Sooky shot and killed himself while handcuffed in the back of a Center Township police cruiser in August 2022.
Civil rights attorney Todd Hollis said the officers violated Sooky's rights by not searching him properly, allegedly missing a weapon, before putting him into the cruiser. The wrongful death civil lawsuit is against Center Township, a police captain, a detective and three officers.
The lawsuit alleges police knew about Sooky's mental health issues for a half-decade and that he owned multiple guns. The lawsuit goes on to allege that police never removed the guns from Sooky's home after several mental health complaints.
Officers first went to the home to do a safety check on his parents. While there, they saw a large number of firearms, including assault rifles and ghost guns, firearms Sooky allegedly was not allowed to have because of a violation of a recent 302 mental health commitment order.
Officers went back to get the guns because of Sooky's mental health issues and a fight ensued. Police disarmed Sooky and put him in handcuffs. The lawsuit alleges police then failed to properly search him for additional weapons.
Police allegedly missed the second gun and Sooky shot and killed himself with his 9mm handgun.
Beaver County District Attorney David Lozier asked Pennsylvania State Police to investigate and nothing criminal was found.
A police expert told KDKA-TV that officers are taught if they find one weapon, keep looking as there may be more. He says qualified immunity may prevail as some would argue the officers were not violating Sooky's rights by missing this second weapon.
Ultimately since this is civil, it would be up to a jury to determine if there was negligence on the part of the officers.