Officer injured at attorney’s home
State police investigating after someone removed from annual party by ambulanceBy Mark Leberfinger and Phil Ray, mleberfinger@altoonamirror.com, pray@altoonamirror.com
HOLLIDAYSBURG - An off-duty Blair County police officer was injured during a July 16 fracas that erupted at a party held at attorney Thomas M. Dickey's home after an annual golf tournament.
State troopers from the Hollidaysburg barracks responded to 226 Woodland Terrace, Hickory Hills, for a report of a disturbance at 8:40 p.m. July 16, Lt. Timothy Mercer, the Troop G crime section supervisor, said Tuesday.
No arrests were made, but the incident remains under investigation, Mercer said.
Dickey said he didn't see anything and was not a witness to what occurred, but he heard a ruckus occurring outside and asked that 911 be called.
One person was removed from the party by ambulance, and Dickey confirmed he saw blood.
Dickey said the brawl was an isolated incident, and said after police came and conducted interviews and gathered evidence, the party continued. He said nobody was intoxicated at the party.
He said the incident occurred outside his residence in a garden.
"I was very disappointed by what occurred," he said.
He said the golf tournament at the Scotch Valley Country Club and dinner at his home is an annual event he puts together for people in the justice system, including lawyers, police officers and sheriff's deputies.
Judges Joseph Leahey and Gerard Long of Cambria County played golf but were not present at the dinner when the fight occurred, Dickey said. They had left the affair by that point.
No Blair County judges were present, but at least two members of the district attorney's staff were there.
Other guests included lawyers from Pittsburgh, Greensburg and Uniontown, Dickey said.
Blair County District Attorney Richard Consiglio confirmed Tuesday that an investigation was under way but provided few facts about what he knew.
An anonymous letter sent out concerning what occurred said the injured party was a state trooper. That was denied by Consiglio and Mercer. The letter also said the assailant was a person from Cambria County. Dickey said that was not true.
"There was a large party there and many of the potential witnesses departed prior to us having the opportunity to interview them," Mercer said. "There may be a substantial number of people to be interviewed, numbering in the teens or twenties."
Logan Township Police Chief Ron Heller confirmed that one of his off-duty officers attended the party but declined comment further.
"It's being investigated by the state police," he said.
Heller said his officer may be disciplined as a result of being at the party.
"It depends on the facts and the outcome of the investigation," he said.
Hollidaysburg Borough Chief Jeffrey Ketner declined comment when asked if one of his off-duty officers was at the party.
"I can't comment. State police were called. That's all I can say," he said.
Several other Blair chiefs contacted Tuesday said none of their officers were at the party. No troopers were at the party, except for those who responded to the disturbance call, Mercer said.
Cpl. Brian Hoover of the Bedford barracks is conducting the investigation for state police. Bedford troopers were asked to handle the case because Blair County municipal police officers were at the party.
"Because of that fact, customarily we have investigators from a neighboring barracks conduct that investigation," Mercer said.
Dickey said he was disappointed someone would send out an anonymous letter about the party.
"The party [which included 100 to 115 people] was absolutely not out of control," he said.
Police, he said, "conducted their investigation and left."
This was an incident, Dickey said, "that unfortunately occurred during a gathering of professionals."
He said he hosted a catered affair that included filet mignon, shrimp, corn on the cob and many other types of food.
"I tried to put on an event that brings together parts of the court system," he said. The golfing event and dinner were to have everybody together in a more informal atmosphere.
Unfortunately, Dickey said, he doesn't think at this point he will sponsor another golf outing.
Mirror Staff Writer Mark Leberfinger is at 946-7462. Staff Writer Phil Ray at 946-7468.
|
JohnDoe123
|
|
|---|---|
|
07-25-08 8:53 AM
|
The thing about people saying "people think they are above the law"...is that the person who hit the cop is NOT a lawyer, judge, or police officer...he's just some guy who someone invited to be in the tournament. The issue is that charges may be filed. They are still investigating, people! It's NOT an issue of being "above the law". This is just a regular guy who, from what I've gathered, was being an a*****, and words were exchanged and the guy hit the cop with a bottle.AT A PRIVATE party. Police are investigating.. It's been a headline for 3 days, and now Dickey won't have another tournament. HOW is that people getting special treatment?
|
|
Chuxspringer
|
|
|
07-25-08 12:11 AM
|
...an apparent rouge (bad) cop. Did you lend him yours before you left town? At least he had rosy cheeks to match his bloody head. Besides shellyjj you weren't invited. ONLY real attorneys not fake ones.
|
|
shellyjj
|
|
|
07-24-08 10:35 PM
|
eltuna, ima, and all of you other critics. This was a private party; if YOU have a private party and something happens, does this make headlines? And what the*****is a god complex? Leave Dickey alone. He had a party at his house, an apparent rouge (bad) cop was involved, now this is "BIG NEWS?" I'm sure that I were in the area, I would have been there and would have been able to deliver a blow-by-blow account. LET IT GO.
|
|
TJK210
|
|
|
07-24-08 10:26 PM
|
Everyone knows that if it were anyone else involved in this type of situation someone would of been hauled away ,fined etc. If you hold a party & alcolhol is involved you as the host/party giver are held liable for your guest & their actions.. no matter who you are .. This truly sits an example of those who feel they are above the law & shouldn't be punished Please make them have punishment as anyone else would get...
|
|
166481
|
|
|
07-24-08 11:49 AM
|
Who said anything about hating the Mirror. Sometimes they have good reporting sometimes bad. When it is so obvious they are trying to pull punches they need to be called out on it and what better place to call them out than on their own website?
|
|
textcop
|
|
|
07-24-08 7:32 AM
|
Eltuna 13 you bring up a good point. 2 members of the DA's office at the party. Was one of them the one who just got caught drinking and driving? The one who was reinstated to her job? Some of them left before being questioned? Would that be allowed if it were any of us? Golfing and partying all day and no one was intoxicated at the party? A fight breaks out and supposedly someone gets hit over the head with a bottle? The person who did it was sober? "Officer injured at attorney's home" was the title of this article and tells everything except who the officer was. Was the heading used to make us read this to instill anger? Heading should have been "Read these partial facts and you decide"
|
|
OooohNoooo
|
|
|
07-24-08 7:09 AM
|
and the guy that hit the cop wasn't eeven supposed to be at the party.. kind of a hanger on. somebody invisted him to play in the golf deal and he tagged along to the party..and he ruined it for everyone else.. dont blame dickey... blame this idiot
|
|
RUKidding
|
|
|
07-24-08 7:05 AM
|
Soundslike shelly has authority issues... From what I understand, the cop (lindsey) was trying to quell the situation with some guy named jamal that was arguing with someone else. lindsey and the two of them got into it. Beer plus fight = bottle as a weapon. CLUNK to the head. Next thing you know..."911, what is your emergency?"
|
|
ImaBlogger
|
|
|
07-24-08 5:29 AM
|
"A gathering of professionals" huh. Listen, when you get a bunch of people, each having a god complex, together to compete, throw in the alcohol,(which you know was there, admitted or not). It was bound to happen.. Sad thing is, if it were you or me that busted up this cop, we would already be in or on our way to jail. But thats not what will happen here.. Let's see how "not above the law" the persons in the fight really are.
|
|
victortorage
|
|
|
07-24-08 4:29 AM
|
eltuna13, we read the online version because: a. It's FREE! b. We've exhausted our nightly surfing of quality internet content. c. We like to witness the spins and subversions of the truth. d. We like to see the friends of the attendees of the "mover shaker" party "move" and "shake" in the comments section of the above article! Yup.
|
|
eltuna13
|
|
|
07-24-08 12:37 AM
|
If you hate the Mirror so much, why are a) reading their website, b) registered as user on said website, and c) commenting on the website? You make as much sense as Tom Dickey holding a kegger for all of Blair Co's movers and shakers
|
|
166481
|
|
|
07-24-08 12:15 AM
|
I agree with JonDoe completely. A few apples will spoil a whole bunch. Big fish in a small pond is all this is. No big deal and nothing to get excited about. It is the closest thing to celebrity gossip this town has to offer. It is pathetic how afraid the mirror seems to be to use names though, this newspaper is afraid of its own pathetic shadow.
|
|
RazMnaz
|
|
|
07-23-08 10:01 PM
|
I'm still mad because I wasn't invited! Dammit!
|
|
shellyjj
|
|
|
07-23-08 9:40 PM
|
The Altunans' are so out Of touch with reality.
|
|
JohnDoe123
|
|
|
07-23-08 9:13 PM
|
This is something that is unfortunate. Regardless of what some people may think of Tom Dickey, You can't blame him for other people's actions. Stuff like this happens, and the only reason it's getting all of this publicity is because people are making it that way. People forget that police officers, judges, lawyers, and district attorneys are people too. It's unfortunate that the fact that 2 or 3 or 4 people had an altercation will ruin an event like this for those people who were simply there to have a good time and to relax and socialize with some colleagues and friends. I hope those people making a big deal about some attorneys, judges, and police officers taking the day off have never taken a vacation day or personal day ever in their life. The fact that there was a golf tournament and some high profile people attended and an incident occured should not be front page news, in my opinion. The fact that these people went to a golf tournament does not make them bad people.
|
|
SuzyBlog
|
|
|
07-23-08 8:12 PM
|
It doesn't really matter who all was involved. It will all be swept under the rug like everything else in this crooked county. Birds of a feather flock together and WOW what a nasty nest!!
|
|
MattM1
|
|
|
07-23-08 6:46 PM
|
What i wanna know is this.................why did this rag wait to report this!!.....Not until AFTER it was local news.........THEN they put this.....article?...And then we hav Tom Dickey....not goin there thx......this stinks!!.......And this is the last we'll ever hear if it!!!..........CASE BURIED!!
|
|
166481
|
|
|
07-23-08 5:58 PM
|
Flyrod you are my hero. You're doing a better job reporting than this newspaper is, Bravo!
|
|
166481
|
|
|
07-23-08 5:57 PM
|
I had dinner next to Tom Dickey and he is a really charismatic fellow if not maybe a little sleazy. Nobody is perfect and we shouldn't blame him for some meat headed cop getting a bottle broken over his head. If he was disrespectful to the wife or girlfriend of another man it sounds like he got what was coming to him. Maybe he forgot that without the uniform he is just another sucker?
|
|
Flyrodchampion
|
|
|
07-23-08 5:55 PM
|
The Loagn officer who was injured was named as Matt Lindsey who was hurt by a beer bottle being broken over his head.District Attorneys Office Attorney's Illissa Zimmerman and (Deann Paul) who just plead guilty to a DUI ( who should not even be around alcohol) was there also. I wonder if her PO knows she was partying where LOTS of alcohol was located????
|
|
RUKidding
|
|
|
07-23-08 5:44 PM
|
Hmmm... Edgar Snyder vs Tom Dickey... Theres a Pay Per View I'd like to see!
|
|
RUKidding
|
|
|
07-23-08 5:43 PM
|
And furthermore... fight's like this happen every weekend at bars and nightclubs across the area and rarely even see the paper... If this turns out to be two nobodies that were all liquored up and got punchy... who cares whos house it was at or who wass at the party?
|
|
RUKidding
|
|
|
07-23-08 5:41 PM
|
As hard as this is to say... seems to me that Dickey's only problem is that is happened at his party... Maybe whoever got popped can call Edgar Snyder and sue Dickey...
|
|
RUKidding
|
|
|
07-23-08 5:40 PM
|
Fern... There have been no victims named... no charges filed... what, exactly do you waqnt them to publish? What happens is they rush to publish all of this and they get something wrong? Someone could lose his/her career... Lets be somewhat responsible here... There are only a few people who know what happened... Some of them arecops, some of them are not...
|
|
Bacchus
|
|
|
07-23-08 4:50 PM
|
Sweet Bacchus, even the "Punxsutawney Spirit" would give us names!
|