Allegheny County, McCandless settle jail use-of-force lawsuit for $50K

A North Hills man who an Allegheny County Jail corrections officer taunted while shocking him with a Taser last year will receive $50,000 in a settlement of his federal civil rights lawsuit, officials said Tuesday.

“That feels good baby,” the lawsuit claims a corrections officer said to plaintiff Brian Estep, 30, of Hampton who was being processed at the lockup on drunken-driving charges. Estep later appeared in his jail mugshot with a black eye.

In December, Estep sued the county, an unnamed corrections officer listed as “John Doe,” and Patrick Jennings, a McCandless police officer, in Allegheny County Common Pleas Court.

The case was moved on Jan. 21 to federal court in Pittsburgh.

Estep sought a jury trial and more than $75,000 in damages. A notice of settlement was filed in federal court last week, court records show.

“I don’t have anything to say other than, ‘It’s a fair settlement,’” said Anthony Giannetti, who represents Estep.

Allegheny County will foot $30,000 of the total $50,000 settlement, according to court documents obtained by TribLive. McCandless will pay the remaining $20,000. Both defendants denied liability.

For McCandless, settlements of this type are handled directly by the township’s insurance carrier, Township Manager John Schwend told TribLive. The town pays for the insurance policy’s premium from its general fund.

Allegheny County’s share of the total will come from a $1.7 million settlement fund, which is fueled by general operating dollars, county spokeswoman Abigail Gardner told TribLive.

“As it is stated in the settlement, the county denies all liability — but we also weigh cost as a factor, and it is a prudent use of taxpayer dollars to consider the financial impact of continuing a case,” said Rosalyn Guy-McCorckle, the county’s chief solicitor, in a prepared statement.

“We determined that settling this case was in the best interest of all parties, including taxpayers,” she said.

McCandless police arrested Estep on Feb. 6, 2024, after a two-car crash in the North Hills around 2:20 a.m. and took him to the jail, according to a criminal complaint.

Police said Estep fought with them during the arrest and prior to the incident at the jail.

A short body camera video included with the lawsuit shows at least five uniformed officers, including the one taking the video, surrounding Estep in a holding cell at the jail.

“You’ve got one being combative,” one of the officers says as Estep is pushed against a wall.

While Estep was inside the holding cell waiting to be searched with his arms handcuffed behind his back, Jennings told his colleague, Officer Todd Ray, to leave the room because his chest-mounted camera was recording the encounter, the lawsuit claimed.

“Dude get out of here; you got your (expletive) on,” Jennings said, according to the lawsuit.

“Close it,” Jennings ordered, motioning to the door.

Ray left the cell but kept his body camera on, the lawsuit said.

By then, Estep was on the ground. Within seconds of Ray leaving, the video appears to show, one of the people in the room shocked Estep with a Taser.

The camera picked up sounds of Estep grunting as the Taser was being deployed.

In September, six months after his arrest, Estep was found guilty on DUI and simple assault charges during a non-jury trial in September in front of Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge Edward J. Borkowski.

He was found not guilty of aggravated assault. Prosecutors withdraw several other charges.

Borkowski sentenced Estep to 18 months of probation, court records show.

Allegheny County Jail administrators review all use-of-force incidents and turn them over, when necessary, to Allegheny County Police, spokesman Jesse Geleynse has told TribLive.

Geleynse has declined to comment on the lawsuit.

Brian Englert, president of the Allegheny County Prison Employees Independent Union, previously told TribLive that corrections officers at the jail typically do not carry a Taser.

Sergeants who are employed by the county’s Bureau of Corrections, however, do typically carry Tasers, he said.

Allegheny County’s lockup topped the most recent state list for use-of-force incidents involving a “stun device,” according to self-reported statistics compiled by the state Department of Corrections.

There were 183 such incidents at the Allegheny County Jail in 2023 — nearly 43% of the statewide total. That was followed by Berks County, which had 32 incidents, according to corrections data.