Girardville settles federal lawsuit accusing cop of misconduct, assault on Ashland man
GIRARDVILLE – Borough Council here voted to approve a settlement of a federal lawsuit accusing one of its police officers of misconduct and assault after an Ashland man was stunned during a traffic stop.
Solicitor Arlen Day said the settlement would be for $130,000, “significantly less than what was discussed.”
He said the settlement will be paid by borough insurance and will not directly cost the borough, though insurance rates could go up.
“What I was told was [the insurance company] couldn’t get an expert to say his actions were appropriate,” Day said. “It doesn’t mean they couldnt’ve taken it to trial and still possibly have won, but given the amount, the insurance company thought that they should settle it.”
The settlement would end a federal lawsuit filed in 2020 by Brian Maurer, of Ashland, against Matthew Williams, a Girardville police lieutenant at the time. Williams is also a Shenandoah officer.
The lawsuit was filed after court filings said Maurer and his brother were stopped by Williams for failure to signal entering Main Street on Dec. 3, 2018.
According to Maurer’s civil complaint, Williams ordered Maurer out of the vehicle, saying he looked “suspicious” and that he smelled alcohol, despite no alcohol being present in the car or having been imbibed by the brothers.
Williams ordered them out of the vehicle and, in the process, Maurer accidentally brushed Williams’ leg with the car door, at which point the officer attempted to arrest him for summary harassment.
Maurer said he forcibly removed Maurer from the vehicle, pinned him against the car, and handcuffed his right wrist. With his free hand, Maurer removed his phone from his pocket, threw it to his brother and told him to film the incident.
At that point, Williams drew his stun gun, ordering the brother back into the car and, “suddenly, without any warning,” he struck Maurer twice with the stun gun.
Williams claimed it was for “resisting arrest” according to the court filing and eventually struck Maurer again with the stun gun after he was fully handcuffed, sending him to the ground, face first, unable to brace himself.
Assisting units from Mahanoy City, Shenandoah, and Ashland arrived and Maurer was taken into custody and charged with felony aggravated assault, resisting arrest, and harassment, along with the traffic violation.
The assault and resisting arrest charges were dismissed for lack of evidence and the remaining charges were withdrawn.
In another filing, Williams contended that he used the “minimum amount of force necessary” to take Maurer into custody after Maurer “purposefully and forcefully struck him with the vehicle door.”
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