Westmoreland commissioners OK $25K settlement of inmate's suit

The Westmoreland County Commissioners have approved a $25,000 settlement of a federal civil suit brought by an county prison inmate over alleged mistreatment and denial of his constitutional rights in 2019.

Keith Rosario accused prison staff of assaulting him, withholding his legal materials and denying him access to a grievance process while he was held in pre-sentencing confinement at the county jail in Hempfield from Feb. 7-12, 2019.

In addition to prison staff, Rosario’s suit named the county, Commissioner Ted Kopas and former Commissioner Charles Anderson as defendants. Kopas said after voting to approve the settlement that he is precluded from commenting on it.

Rosario was transferred to the Westmoreland prison after being convicted of attempted homicide in Washington County Court.

According to court documents, Rosario was placed in disciplinary custody after refusing to enter his cell for lockdown and was told his legal documents wouldn’t be returned until he demonstrated compliance with prison staff.

Court papers state that Rosario urinated and threw feces on the floor and attempted to throw a tray of food through an opening in his cell door.

Water to his cell was shut off because of his misconduct. Pepper spray was used when an “extraction team” came to remove Rosario from his cell.

Rosario claimed the spray disoriented him and that he didn’t resist the prison staff but still was rammed with a riot shield, slammed into a bed frame, punched and kicked, had his eye gouged and suffered cuts to the back of his head.

In a conflicting report, a staff member said Rosario resisted efforts to handcuff him, after which officers “threw multiple closed-fist strikes to (Rosario’s) shoulder” and “one knee strike.”

According to court documents, Rosario’s head cuts were evaluated. He was medically cleared before being transferred to the Washington County Correctional Facility and then to state prisons in Greene and Erie counties.

In November, U.S. Magistrate Judge Maureen P. Kelly in federal District Court in Pittsburgh recommended dismissal of Rosario’s claims of excessive force and failure of a bystander to intervene against some defendants, including the commissioners, but not against several other named defendants.

Kelly also recommended dismissal of Rosario’s claims regarding his lack of access to a grievance process and the food he was served at the Westmoreland prison.

The case was resolved during a May 20 settlement conference.