Lawsuit alleges wrongful arrest by Pittsburgh police following incident at Brookline bar | TribLIVE.com
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Lawsuit alleges wrongful arrest by Pittsburgh police following incident at Brookline bar

Paula Reed Ward
| Tuesday, October 31, 2023 1:13 p.m.
Tribune-Review

A family is suing the city of Pittsburgh and several police officers, claiming they were wrongfully arrested two years ago following an altercation at a Brookline bar.

Matthew Hindman, Angie Hindman and their daughter Brianna Holland filed the lawsuit in federal court on Monday alleging claims for malicious prosecution, due process violations and conspiracy.

It names as defendants the City of Pittsburgh; Pittsburgh police, as well as an unnamed police officer and police commander.

It also references former officer Michelle McHenry Auge, who was off-duty that night, and involved in the initial altercation that led to the charges being filed.

Pittsburgh police confirmed Tuesday that McHenry Auge is no longer an employee.

A spokeswoman for the city said she could not comment on pending litigation.

According to the lawsuit, the family went to the Brookline N’ Sinker bar the evening of Oct. 30, 2021, where they encountered McHenry Auge.

“Former detective McHenry Auge’s entrance prompted the bartender to yell at her that she was already told to leave once,” the lawsuit said.

The plaintiffs claim that McHenry Auge began to yell at, spit on and punch Angie Hindman. When Holland tried to help her mother, McHenry Auge began kicking both women.

The scuffle was pushed outside, the lawsuit said, when McHenry Auge bit Angie Hindman’s leg and would not let go.

The altercation ended when McHenry Auge stopped biting her, and both Angie Hindman and Holland went to the bar’s bathroom to tend to the bite wound.

In the meantime, the Pittsburgh police responded, and the Hindmans and Holland were arrested.

The criminal complaint alleged that Angie Hindman jumped McHenry Auge and punched the off-duty officer at least 17 times and tried to strangle her. McHenry Auge claimed Angie Hindman was the mother of a suspect she was investigating.

Angie Hindman was charged with strangulation, aggravated assault and retaliation against a witness.

Matthew Hindman and Holland were charged with simple assault and disorderly conduct.

According to the lawsuit, all of the charges against all three defendants were withdrawn by the Allegheny County District Attorney’s office.

Defense attorney Joseph Horowitz, who represented the family, said he spoke with witnesses from the bar who were there that night. He said they contradicted the police allegations.

By the time the case was to have its preliminary hearing, Horowitz said, the district attorney’s office withdrew the charges.

He said he never got a formal explanation why that occurred.

The lawsuit is seeking money for damage to the plaintiffs’ reputations, which were sullied by media coverage of the initial arrest.

According to the lawsuit, at the time of the altercation, Matthew Hindman worked for the city Department of Public Works and was up for a promotion to become a foreman.

Because of the pending criminal charges, the lawsuit said, he was passed over for the promotion.

By the time his name was cleared, the complaint continued, the position had gone to someone else.

The lawsuit refers to McHenry Auge as a “problem officer with a troubled history” in the police department.

She was injured in April 2013 when a man who had escaped a half-way house attacked her and her partner. Pittsburgh police Officer Morgan Jenkins was paralyzed, and McHenry Auge sustained a broken orbital bone.


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