Death of Kenneth Vinyard, man pushed by officer while trying to help shooting victim in Monaca, ruled accident

BEAVER, Pa. (KDKA) -- The death of Kenneth Vinyard, a man who was pushed by an off-duty Center Township officer while trying to help a shooting victim in Monaca last year, was ruled an accident.

The Beaver County coroner said Vinyard's cause of death was hypertensive and atherosclerotic disease and said, "blunt force trauma of the head and associated stress that occurred during the confrontation contributed to his demise."

Vinyard's estate was awarded nearly $1 million earlier this month to settle a lawsuit against the township and the officer over his death.

After the settlement, attorney Joel Sanson blasted the attorney general's office, which now has the case after the Beaver County district attorney recused himself due to a conflict of interest. He's calling on the office to charge the officer. 

Sansone has said video shows the officer, who wasn't on duty at the time, violently pushing Vinyard to the ground after he tried to help a man shot in the parking lot of the Walmart in Monaca last November. His fiancé started CPR, but the 48-year-old died later at a hospital.