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Lawsuit against Pittsburgh police claiming Station Square assault moves to federal court
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The city of Pittsburgh on Thursday moved a lawsuit to federal court filed by an Apollo man who accuses police of breaking bones in his face in a 2010 encounter at Saddle Ridge in Station Square.
Taylor Condarcure, 26, was at Saddle Ridge with a group of about 30 friends in February 2010, according to the complaint, which attorney Margaret Schuetz originally filed in the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas.
His group left and then returned, according to the complaint. When police told him he had to leave, he "responded that he hadn't done anything and asked why he was being ejected," according to the complaint.
Pittsburgh police officers working a secondary detail for the bar punched him in the face, grabbed him from behind, took him down with a leg sweep and dragged him outside, according to the complaint. An officer pushed him into the wall, "smashing his already injured face against the brick," according to the complaint.
Mr. Condarcure was jailed for 18 hours and charged with aggravated assault, disorderly conduct and criminal trespass, for which he was eventually found not guilty.
His cheek bone was broken in three places, and despite surgery he "still is not able to fully open his mouth," it said.
City Solicitor Dan Regan was not immediately available for comment.
The lawsuit against the city, six police bureau members, Station Square LLC and Saddle Ridge seeks compensatory and punitive damages.
City attorneys moved the case to federal court because it alleges violations of Mr. Condarcure's rights to free speech and due process and his right to be free from unlawful search and seizure.
First Published October 5, 2012 9:32 am
