A man was charged Friday with fighting with authorities and choking a Munhall police officer before the officer shot him last week inside a police holding cell in the borough’s municipal building.
Munhall police initially took Christopher Allie, 38, of Munhall into custody after a violent domestic dispute on East 18th Avenue about 11:30 p.m. Feb. 9, according to a criminal complaint in the case.
Allie allegedly had broken into the home of a former paramour and assaulted her, the complaint said.
Allie then was taken to the municipal building and put into the holding cell during processing. About an hour later, Allie tried to cover a camera in the cell with wet toilet paper, according to the complaint.
Two Munhall police officers then entered the cell, the complaint said. As one of the officers tried “to take Allie to the ground,” Allie began to fight. Both officers deployed Tasers but Allie continued to fight.
Allie then grabbed an officer around the neck and began to choke them, Allegheny County Police spokesman Jim Madalinsky said. The officer fired three shots, striking Allie three times in the abdomen. County police did not identify the officers involved in the shooting.
Allie was taken to UPMC Mercy hospital in critical but stable condition. Madalinsky said Allie remained hospitalized Friday afternoon.
The officers were not injured.
Allie was charged with aggravated assault, strangulation and resisting arrest. He was awaiting a preliminary hearing Friday afternoon.
Allie’s attorney was not listed in court records.
Munhall officials remained tight-lipped this week about the incident.
“There’s not a lot I can say right now,” Munhall Mayor Rob Falce told TribLive on Monday. “It’s been turned over to county investigators.”
Falce, borough Councilman Rick Brennan and Robert Macey, who represents Munhall on Allegheny County Council, did not return phone calls Friday afternoon.
Borough Manager David Tye deferred all questions to Munhall police Chief Thomas Fullard, who has not responded to multiple calls, emails or an in-person visit to the municipal building.
Many issues remain unclear about the incident, including why officers entered the holding cell, why they felt it was urgent to prevent the man from covering the camera, what Munhall police protocols are for monitoring arrestees and why the officers’ Tasers were ineffective.
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Allie pleaded guilty in 2015 to resisting arrest and disorderly conduct in Pittsburgh, court records show. A judge sentenced him to 18 months of probation.
Allie was named as a defendant in three protection from abuse orders, or restraining orders — one each in 2005, 2007 and 2019, civil court records show. Different women filed each of the PFA orders.