Charges To Be Refiled Against Officer Accused Of Assaulting Fan
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - The Allegheny County District Attorney says he will re-file charges against Sgt. Stephen Matakovich, who is accused of getting into a scuffle with a fan outside of Heinz Field in November.
Police say the sergeant was working a uniformed, off-duty secondary employment detail at a WPIAL football championship game at Heinz Field on Nov. 28, when he arrested a man for a number of charges, including public drunkenness and aggravated assault.
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According to police, surveillance video of the arrest led to a criminal investigation, which led to Matakovich being charged with simple assault and official oppression.
A district magistrate dismissed the charges against Matakovich on Monday.
"Clearly, there's probable cause that a crime has been committed," said District Attorney Stephen Zappala. "We can find no justification for the use of force on that boy, that man... young man."
The FBI has also launched a review of the case.
The DA also said he was not pleased that a group of uniformed police officers were in court on Monday when the charges were dismissed. The officers applauded when the judge dropped the case.
Zappala said, "They should not have been there."
Pittsburgh Police Chief Cameron McLay, in fact, may be investigating whether the officers were supposed to be on-duty at the time when they were actually in court, according to Zappala.