An Ellwood City police officer was charged Friday with assault, accused of shoving a teenager to the floor of a convenience store earlier this year — a confrontation that was caught on camera and circulated widely across social media.
Robert Magnifico, 59, is charged with simple assault, harassment, making false statements to law enforcement, tampering with public records and two counts of official oppression.
The charges, filed by state Attorney General Dave Sunday’s office Friday, stem from an altercation inside an Ellwood City Sheetz on June 6.
Mr. Sunday said footage of the incident showed Mr. Magnifico “engaged in abusive and intimidating behavior that is clearly out of bounds and, in face, a series of criminal acts.”
The incident began when a 19-year-old customer — identified by