Woman accused of assaulting Lower Burrell officers, EMT responding to fight over empty liquor bottle

Tony LaRussa | Sunday, February 5, 2023 6:01 a.m.

Courtesy of Westmoreland County Jail

Tia Anastasia Collins

A woman accused of repeatedly punching a family member in the face when he polished off the last shot of cognac during a night of heavy drinking faces felony charges after Lower Burrell police said she attacked officers and medics who responded to her home.

Tia Anastasia Collins, 24, of the 200 block of Eastern Drive was charged with two counts of aggravated assault and a count of trying to disarm a police officer, which are felonies, along with counts of making terroristic threats and resisting arrest.

Collins was being detained in the Westmoreland County jail in lieu of a $50,000 cash bond, according to court records. She faces a March 14 preliminary hearing before District Judge Cheryl Peck Yakopec.

Police wrote in a criminal complaint that Collins called 911 shortly after 1 a.m. Jan. 28 to report that two male family members were fighting.

But when officers arrived, they said Collins was “trying to get at” one of the men while the other man kept them separated, the complaint said.

When an officer tried to intervene, Collins grabbed his ballistic vest and tried to punch him in the face, the complaint said.

Police said Collins resisted arrest and kicked the officer while she was being taken to the ground so they could place her in handcuffs and leg shackles.

During the scuffle, Collins suffered a nosebleed, police said, but she cursed at emergency medical technicians and kicked one of them when they tried to tend to her injury.

Collins also is accused of threatening to stab officers while they were arresting her, police said.

Police said Collins was heavily intoxicated and taken by ambulance to Allegheny Valley Hospital in Harrison to be checked, the complaint said.

An officer who was guarding Collins while she was at the hospital wrote in the complaint that when he removed the handcuffs so she could get a CT scan, Collins grabbed hold of his taser and tried to pull it from the holster, the complaint said. The officer was able to prevent Collins from getting hold of the weapon and placed her back in handcuffs.

A witness told police that Collins and a male family member had been drinking tequila and cognac throughout the night and that Collins got angry and began punching the man because “someone poured out the last bit of the Hennessy (cognac),” according to the complaint.