Ten Westmoreland County sheriff’s deputies on Wednesday claimed in a federal lawsuit a Pennsylvania State Police trooper used his position to initiate frivolous criminal investigations against them.
The deputies, who are members of the agency’s fugitive apprehension unit, said the situation started in 2022 when they twice requested help from state police in Uniontown to serve two felony bench warrants in Fayette County. They were told troopers weren’t available. Jeffrey Schaeffer, who was station commander at the time, and other troopers accused them of “acting illegally” during the arrests, according to the lawsuit.
A subsequent investigation by the Westmoreland County District Attorney’s Office found that members of the unit didn’t violate any laws or policies, according to the suit.
Deputies said they helped Mt. Pleasant Borough police arrest a suspect Dec. 12 after three people were involved in a vehicle chase with gunshots being fired. Borough police turned the investigation over to state police in Greensburg after learning much of the incident happened in Mt. Pleasant Township. A father and son are facing charges.
Schaeffer, who had been transferred to the Greensburg station, again asked for investigations into the deputies related to actions during the Dec. 12 arrest, according to the suit. During all of the investigations, deputies were placed on administrative leave and unable to collect overtime. They’ve been cleared of any wrongdoing.
In February, Sheriff James Albert tried to enact a policy that would have required state police to transport their own inmates to hearings at local district courts, but that was struck down by a judge. The move was, in part, because of the tensions between deputies and state police.
The suit indicated there was lingering hostility between Schaeffer and Deputy Irvin Shipley, stemming from a fight while they were in high school in 1995.
The deputies are claiming invasion of privacy, violation of their rights, failure to train, abuse of process and defamation. In addition to Schaeffer, Pennsylvania State Police are being sued. A spokesperson declined to comment.
In addition to Irvin, the deputies who filed the suit are John Dixon, Brian Matthews, Robby Orbin, Ryan Walker, Brandon Stephenson, Jacob Shaffer, Tyler Shuey, Cole Bier and MacLean Walton.