Kiski Township not defending former police sergeant in civil case, denies his allegations of intimidation

After a Kiski Township man recently sued former township police Sgt. Thomas Dessell for $12,000, the township has not responded to requests to defend him.

Township Solicitor Tim Miller said the township supervisors had no plans to defend Dessell, at least so far. Dessell’s attorney said he has sent letters to the township on Dessell’s behalf but has not yet received a decision.

“Kiski Township should be providing Tom Dessell a defense,” said Max Roesch, an attorney with the Lindsay Law Firm in Butler, who is representing Dessell in a civil lawsuit against the township.

“If they don’t represent him, I will,” Roesch said.

Because Dessell’s representation in court is unclear and there were conflicts in Roesch’s schedule, Dessell’s hearing was granted a continuance from Dec. 12 to Jan. 23 before District Judge Kevin Lee McCausland in Rural Valley.

The $12,000 civil complaint against Dessell stems from an altercation between Dessell and township resident William Culp during a medical emergency that Dessell responded to while on duty in 2021. Kiski Township police filed assault and other charges against Culp. Culp entered an ARD program as part of the legal proceedings.

Dessell resigned from the department in July, along with three other Kiski Township officers and a dispatcher. All claimed they were harassed and intimidated by township supervisors.

Dessell suing township

Dessell followed up his resignation with a civil lawsuit, accusing township supervisors of threats and intimidation over what he believes were illegal and corrupt acts.

Roesch said that lawsuit, in Armstrong County’s Court of Common Pleas, is in the discovery phase.

“The case is still in its infancy,” he said.

The township denied allegations in Dessell’s lawsuit in a court filing last month in response to the lawsuit. The township added allegations that a township supervisor received complaints about Dessell conducting improper vehicle stops and searches. The township also alleges in its response that Dessell “threatened to make the supervisors’ and other officers’ lives a living hell.”

Allison Genard, an attorney with Campbell Durrant of Pittsburgh, which is representing the township in the case, said officials had no comment on the lawsuit.

Roesch said: “We are confident that the discovery process will reveal the truth, and we stand by the complaint.”