A magistrate judge who presides in Pittsburgh has recommended that a major portion of a lawsuit brought on behalf of Blair County Corrections Officer Rhonda Russell, slain while in the line of duty in the Central Court building more than four years ago, be dismissed.

Russell at the time of the shooting had been taken hostage by inmate Christopher J. Aikens, 58, who on Nov. 17, 2021, was awaiting a preliminary hearing on newly filed firearms, forgery and drug-related offenses.

Aikens, a man desperate to escape from custody, saw his chance when he was temporarily freed of one of his handcuffs to go to the restroom and as he was returning to his cell, he shoved the officer against a wall and retrieved her service weapon.

A scuffle ensued and attorneys in the Court Building reported the incident to Altoona Police Sergeant George Bistline, a 45-year veteran of the department, who was serving as a court liaison officer that day.

“Bistline went down the empty hallway and pushed open the door to the female holding cell …

Aikens had Officer Russell in front of him, like a human shield, and pointed the firearm at

Sergeant Bistline, instructing him to back off,” it was reported in the recent opinion issued by Magistrate Judge Maureen P. Kelly.

The sergeant complied and retreated out of Aikens’ sight, according to Kelly, who was assigned to review the lawsuit by U.S. District Judge Stephanie L. Haines in Johnstown.

The federal civil rights lawsuit filed on Russell’s behalf stated Bistline had time to deliberate and did not have to make a split second decision.

The sergeant had alternatives: attempt to negotiate with Aikens; attempt to deescalate the situation; warn Aikens he might use deadly force; call for back-up; call for a SWAT unit, crisis intervention, or summon a hostage negotiator.

The sergeant’s choice was to pull his firearm and walk back to the cell area. He fired at Aikens, the projectile striking and killing Russell.

Aikens, who was no longer holding Russell’s service weapon, fell to the floor.

Russell collapsed on top of him.

She was 47 years old at the time of her death and the mother of three sons.

Aikens had several escape attempts

Christopher Aikens, presently is incarcerated in the State Correctional Institution in Camp Hill where he is serving a life sentence after pleading guilty to second degree murder of a law enforcement officer.

Prior to his arrest in November 2021, he had already served 20 years of his life behind bars.

His record included charges of robbery, burglary, reckless endangerment, unlawful possession of a firearm, assault, harassment, terroristic threats, victim/witness intimidation, receiving stolen property, criminal mischief and drug violations.

The magistrate judge in reviewing the case noted that Aikens, when arrested just prior to the Russell incident, told prison officials “he had nothing to live for.”

She pointed out that despite this statement, he was incarcerated in the Blair County Prison’s J-Block as opposed to being placed on suicide watch.

It is alleged that the drains in J-Block a couple of days after Aikens’ arrival became clogged and inmates in the block were temporarily moved into the prison gym.

Upon further inspection, officers found the blade of a fan and several loose bricks in Aikens’ cell, an indication that Aikens was attempting to dig his way out of the prison, thus causing the clogged drains.

Yet, no reports were submitted of any alleged “misconducts” occurring in J-Block.

Moved to a new area, offices later found evidence of “digging” around a window next to Aikens’ bunk.

He also requested to be taken to the hospital after allegedly falling from his bunk and hurting himself. His request was denied.

These incidents were all considered escape attempts, according to a lawsuit that was filed in August 2022 on behalf of Russell’s estate.

Yet, these alleged acts of a man desperate to escape were not related to Russell and a co-worker who were assigned to transport Aikens to Central Court on Nov. 17, 2021.

As it turned out, Russell was eventually alone in the Central Court cellblock, guarding five inmates, including Aikens.

Aikens, in attacking Russell and taking her gun, was making yet another attempt to escape.

Dismissal upheld, with an exception

The initial lawsuit was filed in the District Court in Johnstown by Pittsburgh attorneys Robert A. Bracken and Charles A. Lamberton.

It included a civil rights charge against several prison officials who, it was alleged, knew about Aikens’ state of mind, yet did not inform Russell and the other officer assigned to transport the inmates to Central Court of the risk he posed.

Other defendants in the Russell lawsuit include Blair County and a deputy sheriff who, it was alleged, was busy with other tasks that day, thus leaving Russell alone to guard several inmates that included Aikens.

Also named as defendants were the City of Altoona and officer Bistline.

The lawsuit also brought charges that the “customs and practices” of the county and city, as well as the lack of training of personnel, contributed to the tragedy that occurred on Nov. 17, 2021.

The lawsuit was assigned to District Judge Kim R. Gibson.

Gibson in 2024 issued a 126-page opinion that dismissed the civil lawsuit against the defendants but his order gave leeway to the plaintiff’s lawyers to file an amended complaint.

The Russell estate filed an amended complaint that explained in greater detail why the court should allow the lawsuit to move forward.

Two things occurred that had an effect on a timely disposition of civil charges brought against the defendants.

Bistline died at age 73 at his Altoona home on Feb. 23, 2022, and Gibson died on May 30, 2025, at age 77.

District Judge Stephanie L. Haines then presided over the Russell lawsuit.

She transferred jurisdiction to Magistrate Judge Kelly to rule on the motions by the various defendants to once again dismiss the lawsuit.

Kelly late last month issued a 49-page opinion that upheld Gibson’s initial ruling to dismiss the civil lawsuit — but with an exception.

Gibson ruled that Sergeant Bistline’s use of deadly force in order to free Russell from Aikens’ grasp “shocks the conscience” of the court.

The attorneys for the plaintiffs contended that “Sergeant Bistline’s use of deadly force, in conscious disregard of the substantial risk of harm to innocent parties (Russell), is a constitutional due process violation.”

Gibson found that the sergeant’s actions of re-approaching the holding cell doorway and immediately firing his weapon “plausibly show that Sergeant Bistline consciously disregarded a great risk of harm to Officer Russell,” Kelly pointed out in her recommendation.

Kelly noted she agreed with Gibson’s “compelling analysis,” noting there could be liability under the Due Process clause of the constitution.

Gibson, while acknowledging possible liability, dismissed the claims against Bistline and Altoona, because, he noted, Bistline was entitled to qualified immunity for his actions.

New precedent reviewed

Kelly in her recent opinion stated, “The qualified immunity doctrine protects government officials from liability for civil damages insofar as their conduct does not violate established or constitutional rights of which a reasonable person would have known.”

Since Gibson’s decision granting immunity to the Altoona officer, a new precedent (Stringer v. Bucks County) concerning the grant of immunity has been established by the U.S. Third Circuit Court of Appeals, Kelly explained.

In reviewing the Stringer case, she concluded more facts are needed before immunity can be granted in the Russell case.

For instance, she posed, was Aikens still armed when Sergeant Bistline fired his shot or had Aikens already dropped the weapon?

“However, it is not at all clear what dropping the gun meant in this context. Did he merely sit it down beside him? Did he slide it across the floor? Could he still access it? To what extent did Sergeant Bistline and Officer Russell remain in imminent danger? More importantly, there is nothing that would indicate Sergeant Bistline knew in regard to Aikens dropping the weapon,” Kelly posed in her opinion.

She continued, noting that “it is not certain what Sergeant Bistline might have known in that regard.”

With these questions in mind, Kelly denied Altoona’s motion to dismiss the civil charges alleged against it by the Russell estate.

She ruled that the parties involved in the lawsuit get together within 90 days to resolve the questions she has posed.

Kelly emphasized that Gibson did not have the advantage of the Third Circuit’s 2025 ruling concerning the grant of immunity to officers of the law.

The Stringer case involved a situation where corrections officers in Bucks County lost their immunity through the use of force to restrain a mentally ill female. The force used against her was so brutal that she became catatonic and unresponsive, and ended up in a mental health facility.

Kelly noted that both sides of the Russell case can challenge her recommendations.

The final decision whether to accept or reject her recommendations will be up to Judge Haines.