A Jeannette man claims police used excessive force to subdue him during an investigation into the death of an e-bike rider last year in Hempfield.
James S. Grady II, 62, faces charges filed weeks after police entered his home to serve a warrant. The search was part of a probe into the fatal crash July 31 on College Avenue near North Greengate Road that killed 19-year-old Jayden Lynch.
Grady appeared in court Thursday for a hearing before Westmoreland County Common Pleas Judge Tim Krieger. Grady seeks the dismissal of a misdemeanor count of resisting arrest and a summary charge of disorderly conduct connected to his actions during an early morning search of his home last Aug. 1.
Authorities said Lynch was riding an e-bike when a vehicle owned by Grady but driven by another man struck him. William S. Sever, 37, of Jeannette was charged in November with causing the hit-and-run crash. Sever was formally arrested in February and remains in jail without bond awaiting trial.
According to court records, a neighbor confirmed Grady was home the evening of the crash. Sever denied involvement but confessed to consuming alcohol that night, records show.
Witness statements and surveillance video linked Grady’s vehicle to the crash, while cellphone records led police to suspect Sever was the driver, police said.
Assistant Public Defender Devin O’Leary said police had no basis to detain Grady during the search. He said the officers’ actions left his client with a fractured vertebra and a lacerated kidney.
O’Leary said body camera video revealed police held Grady at gunpoint as he lay on the ground. He said a state trooper punched Grady in the face while attempting to handcuff him, and officers later forcefully pulled him to his feet, tossed him across a room and dragged him out of the home.
Trooper Christopher Fox denied the use of excessive force.
“He was actively resisting,” Fox testified. “I started to lose my balance, and he wouldn’t get off the ground. We carried him out to the porch, and he walked to the police cruiser.”
Fox said he did not see the initial interaction that led a Penn Township police officer to hold Grady at gunpoint.
Grady was not charged in connection with the fatal crash.
O’Leary argued there is insufficient evidence to support a resisting arrest charge. The body camera video revealed no imminent threat to police when they confronted Grady in the home, O’Leary said.
“Without firsthand testimony, we have no idea what happened to satisfy use of justified force. The video shows officers had a gun pointed at him and officers went hands-on for no reason,” O’Leary said.
Assistant District Attorney Theresa Miller-Sporrer said police acted properly.
“Resisting arrest occurred. It was when he pulled his hands under his body, rolled around and pulled a trooper off balance. It is on video. He’s resisting arrest and refusing commands,” Miller-Sporrer said.
Krieger said he will review police body and dash camera videos recorded during the arrest before ruling on Grady’s dismissal request.