Judge rejects Russell lawsuit

Motion filed on behalf of slain officer dismissed, but new complaint allowed

A federal lawsuit filed on behalf of a Blair County Prison corrections officer killed in the line of duty has been dismissed by District Judge Kim R. Gibson presiding in Johnstown.

But the judge, in an order issued Monday, will allow the attorneys representing the estate of the deceased officer, Rhonda Russell, to file a new complaint within 28 days.

If an amended complaint is not filed by early May, the dismissal will stand, according to the judge's order.

Gibson filed his opinion in the clerk's office in Johnstown, but the document has been withdrawn from public view.

Pittsburgh Attorney Robert A. Bracken confirmed Wednesday that an amended complaint will be filed.

Bracken and attorney Charles A. Lamberton in the lawsuit outlined a continuum of events that occurred on Nov. 17, 2021, when Russell, 47, fellow corrections officers and sheriffs' deputies transported and provided oversight of multiple inmates and others charged with crimes making their appearances in the Blair County Central Court located at 615 Fourth St.

Many of those attending the routine Wednesday sessions of Central court are there for preliminary hearings or arraignments on criminal charges.

Such was the case of Christopher J. Aikens, an inmate in his mid-50s, who bore a lengthy criminal record.

That day he was facing new gun and drug charges.

He reportedly stated when re-entering the Blair County Prison that he had nothing to live for.

According to the lawsuit, he was a man desperate to escape.

And, as the lawsuit noted, just prior to being transported to Central Court, prison officers had discovered that Aikens attempted to remove bricks from the wall of his cell on J-Block in the county prison.

The lawsuit contends that Aikens' desperation and the alleged attempt to dig his way out of the county prison had not been reported through the chain of command, and had not been reported to Russell and a colleague who transported him to Central Court on Nov. 17, 2021.

As inmates completed their hearings in Central Court, prison officers and Sheriff's deputies left the cellblock to either attend preliminary hearings or to return inmates to the county prison.

By mid-afternoon, Russell suddenly found herself alone in the cellblock with several male inmates, including Aikens.

The lawsuit charges that Aikens hatched an escape plan to take advantage of the situation and he requested to go to the restroom.

One of his hands was uncuffed so he could go to the restroom.

As he was being escorted back to the cellblock, he made his move by grabbing Russell, and, after a tussle, was able to take her service revolver.

A veteran Altoona Police Officer, Sgt. George Bistline, who was assigned to Central Court, in responding to the ruckus in the cellblock, went to investigate and saw Aikens with a gun, using Russell as human shield.

Aikens told him to back off, which he momentarily did, but, then drawing his gun, he returned to confront Aikens.

The lawsuit noted Bistline fired one shot that struck Russell, killing her.

The administrator of her estate, Richard Reader, the father of her sons, filed the lawsuit against Blair County, the warden of the Blair County Prison, five corrections officers, the Blair County Sheriff and a deputy, and the city of Altoona and the estate of Altoona Police Officer Bistline, who has since passed away.

It charges that county officials failed Russell by not informing her and the other officer that Aikens was a high-risk inmate, desperate to escape.

It was critical of the fact that Russell found herself alone to watch over several male inmates, and the lawsuit faults Bistline for failing to call for back-up, and for not attempting to de-escalate the confrontation in the cellblock.

Attorneys for defendants sought dismissal of the lawsuit.

Blair County Attorney Mary Lou Maierhofer argued that the prison defendants are protected from lawsuits by qualified immunity and she rejected the contention that the county violated the deceased officer's civil rights.

The county also contended state law claims were invalid.

The Sheriff's Department, represented by Harrisburg attorneys Andrew W. Norfleet and Frank J. Lavery, also cited qualified immunity as a defense against lawsuits and noted the claims against the sheriff and a deputy are barred by the Pennsylvania Workers' Compensation Act.

Pittsburgh attorney Alexander W. Brown, representing the city and the police officer, stated in his request to dismiss the lawsuit that Sergeant Bistline's "decision to discharge his firearm in an attempt to save his own life and (Russell's life) does not shock the conscience."

It concluded "no reasonable person would conclude Sergeant Bistline fired his gun with intent to harm or kill (the corrections' officer)."

"Instead, Sergeant Bistline acted to neutralize Aikens, who had taken the plaintiff's gun, held plaintiff against her will in a confined space, and pointed plaintiff's gun at Sergeant Bistline," the dismissal petition stated.

Aikens eventually entered a guilty plea to second degree murder of a law enforcement officer and is serving a life sentence in the State Correctional Institute Frackville.