Special2bme
March 16th, 2009, 12:05 AM
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A Laflin man badly assaulted a Wilkes-Barre police officer early Sunday morning on South Main Street, knocking her unconscious and sending her to the hospital with facial and head injuries, city police say.
Police say Anthony Cavanaugh violently elbowed Officer Erika Oswald in the face when police arrived to break up a large fight between patrons leaving the Hardware Bar around 2:15 a.m.
Fellow officers immediately took Cavanaugh, 23, into custody in the area of the fight, outside 52 S. Main St. He was charged with aggravated assault on a police officer.
Oswald was temporarily rendered unconscious and suffered facial contusions as a result of the assault, police said. She was rushed to Geisinger Wyoming Valley Medical Center in Plains Township, where she was treated and later released, police said.
"I’m appalled someone would actually physically assault a police officer in downtown Wilkes-Barre. That doesn’t happen often," Wilkes-Barre police Chief Gerard Dessoye said Sunday.
Dessoye said Oswald responded with several other officers, all men, and Cavanaugh chose to strike her.
"Perhaps he thought she was an easy target. There were other cops there and he chose to assault her," the chief said. "He found out it wasn’t a good idea and got arrested."
Oswald is doing "OK," but will be off duty for the immediate future, Dessoye said.
Oswald is a patrol officer who has been on the city police force since 1994. She is one of two female police officers in the 91-member department.
Magisterial District Judge Joseph Halesey arraigned Cavanaugh and lodged him in Luzerne County Correctional Facility in lieu of $20,000 cash bail. He remained jailed Sunday night.
Sunday morning’s arrest was Cavanaugh’s 21st arrest since turning 18 in 2003, most of which were disorderly conduct, harassment and fighting charges, according to court records.
http://www.citizensvoice.com/articles/2009/03/15/news/doc49bd7d4069c0b970348805.txt
A Laflin man badly assaulted a Wilkes-Barre police officer early Sunday morning on South Main Street, knocking her unconscious and sending her to the hospital with facial and head injuries, city police say.
Police say Anthony Cavanaugh violently elbowed Officer Erika Oswald in the face when police arrived to break up a large fight between patrons leaving the Hardware Bar around 2:15 a.m.
Fellow officers immediately took Cavanaugh, 23, into custody in the area of the fight, outside 52 S. Main St. He was charged with aggravated assault on a police officer.
Oswald was temporarily rendered unconscious and suffered facial contusions as a result of the assault, police said. She was rushed to Geisinger Wyoming Valley Medical Center in Plains Township, where she was treated and later released, police said.
"I’m appalled someone would actually physically assault a police officer in downtown Wilkes-Barre. That doesn’t happen often," Wilkes-Barre police Chief Gerard Dessoye said Sunday.
Dessoye said Oswald responded with several other officers, all men, and Cavanaugh chose to strike her.
"Perhaps he thought she was an easy target. There were other cops there and he chose to assault her," the chief said. "He found out it wasn’t a good idea and got arrested."
Oswald is doing "OK," but will be off duty for the immediate future, Dessoye said.
Oswald is a patrol officer who has been on the city police force since 1994. She is one of two female police officers in the 91-member department.
Magisterial District Judge Joseph Halesey arraigned Cavanaugh and lodged him in Luzerne County Correctional Facility in lieu of $20,000 cash bail. He remained jailed Sunday night.
Sunday morning’s arrest was Cavanaugh’s 21st arrest since turning 18 in 2003, most of which were disorderly conduct, harassment and fighting charges, according to court records.
http://www.citizensvoice.com/articles/2009/03/15/news/doc49bd7d4069c0b970348805.txt