Altoona Police Department review board: Officer’s use of force ‘appropriate’
Judge hears arguments at pre-trial hearing for 71-year-old
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HOLLIDAYSBURG -- The Altoona Police Department's Use of Force Review Board found that an officer's use of six "compliance strikes" during the detention of a 71-year-old city man in July to be "appropriate," according to Blair County District Attorney Pete Weeks.
In speaking with APD Chief Derek Swope, Weeks said the review board would not be undertaking any further investigation into the use of force incident that left James Paul Kuhn bruised and bloody, allegedly at the hands of arresting officer Cpl. Stephen Fox.
Kuhn was taken into custody by Altoona police on July 13 after a turn signal violation evolved into an alleged high-speed chase and subsequent altercation. He was ultimately charged with single felony counts of aggravated assault and fleeing police, single misdemeanor counts of evading arrest, recklessly endangering another person and resisting arrest, as well as five summary traffic offenses.
Weeks made the comments during a pre-trial motions hearing Friday afternoon in front of President Judge Wade A. Kagarise.
During the proceedings, Kagarise reopened the record in regard to Chief Public Defender Julia Burke's motion to modify Kuhn's bail. Kuhn has been incarcerated at the Blair County Prison in lieu of 10% of $50,000 bail since his arrest.
Burke called Fox to the stand to provide additional testimony on his apprehension of Kuhn on July 13. When Burke asked Fox if he had collected and reviewed the body worn and dash camera videos before giving them to the prosecution, Fox said yes. He also confirmed that the videos "accurately depicted" what occurred during the arrest.
Burke then played various pieces of police footage while questioning Fox on what was happening. When asked about the felony aggravated assault charge, Fox said Kuhn's left hand appeared to be "cocked back."
"You can see him swing his left hand toward (Officer Matthew) Mazzara's head," Fox said.
Burke also questioned Fox's use of "compliance strikes," asking if the compliance he was seeking was Kuhn putting his left arm behind his back, to which Fox said yes. Burke then asked if there were four or five other officers pushing down on Kuhn and Fox said they weren't there initially, but eventually arrived on scene.
When asked if the compliance strikes were necessary, Fox again said yes.
"The strikes were necessary," Fox said. "I feared he had some type of weapon."
During cross-examination by First Assistant District Attorney Nichole Smith, Fox confirmed that the six compliance strikes "were not a constant barrage of punches." Fox explained that he would give Kuhn an order, wait and then strike Kuhn twice in a controlled manner if he did not cooperate. This occurred three times, Fox said.
Fox said he only used enough force to overcome Kuhn's "active resistance." When asked how Kuhn was actively resisting, Fox said he would tense his muscles, move against Fox's force and move his arm underneath himself.
Following Fox's testimony, Kagarise heard arguments from Burke and Smith regarding Kuhn's bail.
Burke told Kagarise it was "pretty clear the officers were not injured in any way" during the incident. She said Kuhn was in the hospital the day before the incident and had several medical conditions that were overdue for either procedures or follow-up with doctors.
"It's our position that obviously we have to litigate the underlying criminal charges," Burke said. "But he's been punished enough."
Burke asked Kagarise to modify Kuhn's bail to $50,000 unsecured, saying Kuhn had no financial means to pay for an ankle monitor but that he would comply with any pre-trial services.
When Kagarise asked Burke if Kuhn had any equity in his property, Burke said she was "not able to ascertain information that sounded consistent with him owning the home outright."
"If he could borrow against that, he would not still be in prison," Burke said.
Smith told Kagarise that the DA's office remained opposed to modifying Kuhn's bail as his criminal history was "extremely serious." She gave the example of Kuhn being charged with criminal attempted homicide in 1987 that involved his three children.
While Kuhn's punishment was probation through a plea deal, Smith said they were unable to find any documentation on if Kuhn had violated that probation.
"I'm asserting he is a risk certainly to any law enforcement, but also, by extension, to the community," Smith said, then added that medical furloughs were available for Kuhn to be treated.
If the judge decided to grant Burke's motion for bail modification, Smith asked that the probation office "at the very least" search Kuhn's residence for any firearms.
Kagarise ultimately said he would issue his order regarding Kuhn's bail within seven days, then scheduled Kuhn's case for jury selection Nov. 19.
Mirror Staff Writer Rachel Foor-Musselman is at 814-946-7458.