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Friday, November 01, 2002

BEAVER COUNTY: Police chief suspended

The longtime police chief of Bridgewater has been suspended over allegations that he ordered officers not to pull over drunken drivers and not to show up at court hearings so that such charges would be dropped.

Two officers went to officials in the borough with the allegations last week.

The case will be turned over to state police to determine if criminal charges should be filed, Beaver County District Attorney Dale Fouse said Wednesday.

Brian O'Connor has been the police chief in Bridgewater since 1967.

"I don't like the idea of doing this," said Mayor Charles Cerjak, who suspended O'Connor on Tuesday. "He's been here for over 30 years."

O'Connor refused to comment.

In 1989, O'Connor was charged with obstruction. He was a partner in B&B Vending, which state police said provided illegal video poker machines to businesses throughout Pennsylvania. He entered a probationary program for first-time offenders.

Chase ends in arrest

A truck thief led police on a 45-mile chase through several counties and two states Wednesday night, crashing into squad cars on both sides of the state line before he was arrested.

At 3:45 p.m. Wednesday, Fred B. Cook Jr., 25, of New Castle, stole a truck from a company in Enon Valley, Lawrence County, police said.

At 6:15 p.m., police in Lawrence County spotted the truck and tried to stop Cook. The truck instead headed to Darlington, Beaver County, with police in pursuit. The chase went into Ohio, where Cook reportedly struck several cars belonging to the Ohio Highway Patrol. Cook then turned around and headed back into Beaver on Route 51, turned onto Route 588, and continued through Chippewa and Patterson townships, police said.

He forced vehicles off the road and hit some of them during the chase. Police said Cook then drove into a church parking lot at Route 588 and Steffen Hill, where state Trooper William Feineigle blocked the exit with his car. Cook then rammed the truck into the squad car several times, severely damaging the car and injuring Feineigle.

He then crashed into Trooper Donald Neill's car, which ended the chase around 7:15.

Police said Cook's blood alcohol level was 0.13. The state threshold for drunken driving is 0.10.