State police trooper charged with assault after Paradise Township traffic stop last year
October 19, 2009 / www.poconorecord.com
A Pennsylvania State Police trooper is suspended without pay after he was charged on Monday with assaulting a driver he pulled over during a Paradise Township traffic stop in July 2008, according to the state police internal affairs division.Trooper Mark Edward Shutkufski, 37, of Bethlehem, is accused of punching a Mount Pocono man before wrestling his phone away from him and pointing a Taser at him. The encounter was caught on the patrol car’s dashboard video camera.
Shutkufski, who enlisted with state police in 2001, was stationed at the Swiftwater barracks and faces charges of simple assault, official oppression and harassment stemming from an incident on July 16, 2008, on Route 191, police said. He has been on restricted duty since February.
In court papers filed on Monday, state police gave the following account of the traffic stop that led to the charges against Shutkufski:
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State trooper charged with assaulting motorist
By David Singleton (staff writer) / www.thetimes-tribune.com
Published: October 19, 2009
A Pennsylvania state trooper assigned to the Swiftwater station was charged Monday with assaulting a motorist during a 2008 traffic stop in Monroe County, state police said.
Trooper Mark Edward Shutkufski, 39, of Bethlehem, has been suspended without pay pending a resolution of the charges, police said.
According to state police, Trooper Shutkufski punched Brian McCasland, wrestled the motorist’s cell phone away from him and later pointed his Taser at the man’s head and face.
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Sgt. Jeffrey P. Balut, a supervisor with the state police Internal Affairs Division, filed a complaint before Magisterial District Judge John D. Whitesell charging Trooper Shutkufski with misdemeanor counts of simple assault and official oppression, along with a summary count of harassment.
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Trooper Shutkufski, who joined the state police in March 2001, was placed on restricted duty in February, state police said.
Contact the writer: dsingleton@timesshamrock.com
Could you tell me how many police officers are member of FOP Lodge 38? Are there any femal members? What areas does Lodge 38 cover in Pennsylvania?
1. There are currently approximately 300 FOP Lodge No. 38 members.
2. There are several female members.
3. http://pafop38.com/about/
You folks going to post a follow-up to the postings in October about the trooper from swiftwater….Trial was yesterday and all charges dismissed. So called “victim” lied on the stand and shoved a news camera away after the trial. Pocono record has a good article and http://pahomepage.com/content/video/?cid=116542 has video showing the camera incident.