McKeesport will pay $127,500, and its police department will undergo training, as part of a settlement of a federal lawsuit by three residents alleging civil rights violations by police during a 2020 incident.
Plaintiffs Courtney Thompkins, Ezra Dixon and Kim Neal will each receive $25,000 from McKeesport, while the American Civil Liberties Foundation of Pennsylvania will get $52,500 to cover attorneys’ fees and costs, according to the settlement.
The lawsuit was resolved in October, but the agreement was not disclosed until Tuesday in federal court in Pittsburgh when a judge approved dismissing the defendants with prejudice.
All parties signed off on the settlement in December and January, according to court records.
Under a separate agreement, Allegheny County will pay $12,500 to help cover the plaintiffs’ legal costs.
The trio filed the lawsuit in December 2023 in Allegheny County Common Pleas Court against the city, the county, and several McKeesport police supervisors and officers. It was later moved to federal court.
They criticized the police response to the shooting of Officer Geriasimo Athans by Koby Francis on Dec. 20, 2020. Neal is Francis’ mother. The three accused McKeesport police of illegally searching them and holding them at gunpoint as police sought Francis.
As part of the settlement, the defendants — the city, county, Adam Alfer, Mark Steele, Dante Diberadin — were dismissed.
At the time the suit was filed, Alfer was police chief, Steele was assistant chief and Diberadin was a police officer. None of them are with the police department any longer.
According to the settlement, the defendants deny liability.
McKeesport’s solicitor, Jason Elash, said Friday, “Obviously, we are content with the terms of the settlement.”
Under the settlement terms, McKeesport must receive training this year on various aspects of policing including “searches and seizures, warrantless searches, traffic stops, community policing and racial sensitivity.”
The city had to update its process for handling citizen complaints. It must hold three public safety forums each year with at least one high-ranking member of the police department.
And McKeesport must investigate the incident that led to the lawsuit in consultation with the Allegheny County Police Department.
A report must be compiled with findings and recommendations to improve practices regarding searches and seizures and community engagement. Those findings will be made public in a format negotiated by both sides of the lawsuit.
The incident that gave rise to the lawsuit began when Francis was accused of violating a restraining order obtained by the mother of his child.
Francis was arrested and Athans, the McKeesport police officer, was to take him to the police station.
Athans, however, failed to pat down Francis, who was handcuffed. Athans got Francis out of his car. The suspect’s still-cuffed hands were in front of his body, and he was holding a revolver.
He shot Athans twice.
Francis fled, resulting in a nine-day manhunt before he was arrested in West Virginia. He pleaded guilty to attempted homicide, possession of a prohibited firearm and other charges on May 30. He was sentenced to 15 to 30 years in prison.
The lawsuit alleged that the police search targeted Black McKeesport residents with tactics such as brandishing firearms, demanding entry into homes at gunpoint without a warrant and using excessive force during traffic stops.
An Allegheny County spokeswoman declined comment.
Elash, the McKeesport solicitor, said after Francis escaped, Allegheny County Police “took over the scene.”
“The city didn’t really have a lot of operational command on these searches,” Elash said.