PHILADELPHIA – The City of Sharon has disavowed all liability for injuries suffered by a Cumberland County man who broke into a Farrell supermarket, suffered a gunshot wound to the head by an officer and alleged excessive force was used.
Robert Zeman initially filed a complaint on Dec. 17 in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania against the City of Farrell, Chief Jon Rococi, John Doe, the City of Hermitage, Chief Eric Jewell and John Doe 2, alleging violation of the Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and failure to implement municipal policies and practices.
According to his complaint, Zeman unlawfully entered the Farrell Golden Dawn supermarket at 1 a.m. on Dec. 6, 2018, and the Farrell Police Department and Hermitage Police Department were dispatched to the scene for an alleged trespassing and burglary.
The suit stated Zeman climbed through a drop ceiling to hide, fell through the ceiling in front of police officers, and pulled himself back up into the ceiling. He alleges when the officers did not leave, he climbed out onto a storage shelf, encountered a police officer, ran away and Doe fired his weapon and struck the plaintiff in the top of his head.
The suit stated the plaintiff was transferred to a hospital and diagnosed with a gunshot wound to the head, open depressed fracture of skull and other injuries.
The plaintiff alleged Doe’s use of force against him was an application of excessive force.
On March 12, Zeman voluntarily dismissed his claims against defendants City of Farrell, Rococi and Doe without prejudice. This dismissal was approved the following day by U.S. District Judge David S. Cercone.
Meanwhile, Zeman filed an amended complaint substituting the City of Sharon, Chief Edward Stabile, Cody J. Emmett and Louis E. Squatrito III as defendants in his lawsuit, in place of Farrell, Rococi and Doe.
The City of Hermitage, Jewell, Stabile and Squatrito were dismissed as defendants on April 22, leaving only the City of Sharon and Cody J. Emmett as defendants.
UPDATE
On Aug. 5, the City of Sharon filed an answer to Zeman’s complaint, in which it denied his allegations in their totality and brought forward 11 affirmative defenses against his lawsuit.
“Plaintiff has failed to state a claim upon which relief can be granted, and the defendants’ actions conformed to all applicable laws and regulations at all times relevant hereto. Plaintiff is not entitled to punitive damages against these defendants, plus Plaintiff’s cause of action is barred by the doctrines of collateral estoppel and/or res judicata. Plaintiff was not deprived of any right secured by the United States Constitution,” the answer stated, in part.
“These defendants acted with objective reasonableness and clearly without malice or deliberate indifference to the known rights of plaintiff, and these defendants are entitled to the defense of qualified, good-faith immunity. The defendants assert all other defenses, immunities, and limitations of damages available to them under the Political Subdivision Tort Claims Act and avers that plaintiff’s remedies, if any, are limited exclusively thereto.”
The City further stated that all pendent state law claims which may be contained within the complaint are barred by virtue of the doctrines of governmental immunity and official immunity pursuant to Pennsylvania Law, as provided in the Political Subdivision Tort Claims Act – and that while they deny the allegations and averments made or contained in Zeman’s first amended complaint, any and all acts or actions committed by them were “discretionary in nature and taken in good faith.”
Zeman seeks judgment against the defendants, a trial by jury and all other proper relief.
The plaintiff is represented by D. Aaron Rihn, Allison H. Greene and Sara J. Watkins of Robert Peirce & Associates, in Pittsburgh.
The defendants are represented by Francis D. Wymard of William J. Ferren & Associates, also in Pittsburgh.
U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania case 2:19-cv-01637
From the Pennsylvania Record: Reach Courts Reporter Nicholas Malfitano at nick.malfitano@therecordinc.com