Assault, harassment charges against suspended Pa. trooper held for court

Simple assault and harassment charges against a suspended state trooper were held for court Tuesday.

Senior District Judge Charles R. Conway made the decision at the end of a preliminary hearing during which the accuser testified Nicholas E. Hood, 31, of Derry Township assaulted her during an argument Aug. 26 about a bees’ nest outside their home.

“It did end up getting physical,” she testified.

She said Hood grabbed her by the back of the neck and threw her to the ground. She yelled for help.

“He did get on top of me and covered my mouth so I couldn’t scream,” she said.

A couple days later, she went to a hospital and was diagnosed with a cervical strain and rib pain. She testified of having pain that shot down her arm from her neck.

Defense attorney Brian Aston asked that the simple assault charge, a misdemeanor, be dismissed. Harassment is a summary offense.

“We have a young lady that went to a hospital with some soreness and, to me, that’s more along the lines of a harassment charge,” he said.

In denying Aston’s request, Conway asked: “Have you ever had a stinger?”

Stingers are injuries that occur when nerves in the neck and shoulder are stretched or compressed after an impact, according to the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons.

Criminal charges were filed against Hood on March 18 by troopers from the state police internal affairs division. Members of the division got involved with the investigation after TribLive raised questions about why the allegations initially resulted in a summary harassment charge, which was not the charge recommended by the Westmoreland County District Attorney’s Office upon reviewing the case.

The summary count was withdrawn in late October after TribLive’s inquiry while state police, who handled the original investigation, investigated the matter.

Photographs obtained by TribLive show red marks on the back of the woman’s neck and bruises on her neck and elsewhere.

Hood, who enlisted with the state police in 2015 and had been based at the Greensburg station, is free on his own recognizance. He is suspended without pay.

He originally was cited Sept. 17. The woman involved initially was cited by state police for harassment in the same incident, according to court records. That citation was withdrawn at the direction of the district attorney.