By JEFF STITT
[email protected]
McKeesport Mayor Michael Cherepko talked about the recent shooting of a city police officer and allegations investigators were overly intrusive while searching for the accused shooter.
Koby Francis, 22, of McKeesport is accused of shooting McKeesport Patrolman Geriasimo Athans outside of the city police station Dec. 20.
After nine days on the run, he was taken into custody by U.S. Marshals in Clarksburg, W.Va. Francis is awaiting extradition to Pennsylvania on a host of charges, including attempted homicide.
Athans, who was shot three times and has been discharged from a local hospital, is expected to make a full recovery, the mayor said.
During Wednesday’s city council meeting, Cherepko praised the police department.
“I have Chief (Adam) Alfer with us here tonight and I’ll continue to commend our police department for all their efforts as they continue to work each and every day to keep our neighborhoods safe, to make McKeesport a safer place to live,” Cherepko said Wednesday. “Each of them, most of them, have significant others at home. All of them have somebody in some sort or another that just dreads the day that a call may come in.
“We came close to that this last month. We were very fortunate that everyone is safe, officer Athans is going to make a full recovery and we appreciate the response of our police officers and reacting so unbelievably quickly to the call of a PFA violation that Mr. Francis was violating.”
Athans had taken Francis into custody outside a home on Yester Square a few minutes before the shooting on suspicion of violating a protection from abuse order taken out by the 24-year-old mother of Francis’s child, who has not been identified.
While in the back of Athans’ patrol car, Francis was able to maneuver his handcuffed arms from behind him to in front of him and get hold of a gun he’d kept a hold of somehow, police said.
Cherepko said he is thankful investigators “were able to apprehend Mr. Francis and bring him in safely as well, which is very important.”
He addressed social media and online claims from groups like Take Action Mon Valley, an activism group, and comments from the American Civil Liberties Union’s Pennsylvania branch, which allege police were exhibiting and conducting intrusive and possibly illegal searches at the homes and in the vehicles of McKeesport residents and Francis’ relatives while investigators searched for the suspect the night of the shooting.
“I don’t like to get into allegations, but let me just say, I know there was some allegations out there in the public. I have received zero complaints through email, or through phone. Chief Alfer has received zero complaints.
“And, we’re very fortunate here in the City of McKeesport to have our own branch of the NAACP, the McKeesport branch of the NAACP. … I did speak to our (NAACP) president, Brenda Sawyer, and she assured me that she, too, has absolutely no complaints reported to her through mail, email or phone.”
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