Oakmont man faces vandalism charge after broken sprinkler floods police station's cells
An Oakmont man is facing multiple charges, including a felony charge of institutional vandalism, after causing more than $5,000 in damage to the Penn Hills Police Department.
According to a criminal complaint, after being detained about 2:30 a.m. Saturday, July 26, Daniel Brockhoff, 63, allegedly broke the overhead sprinkler in his cell, causing an “uncontrolled amount” of water to flood his and neighboring cells at the station.
The broken sprinkler caused the fire alarm to sound, and Penn Hills Volunteer Fire Company No. 7 was dispatched to the station, the complaint said. Fire Chief Bill Jeffcoat assessed the damage to be more than $5,000.
Brockhoff initially was taken into custody for alleged public drunkenness. The complaint said he attempted to fight the officers and verbally threatened them during his arrest and when police attempted to move him out of the cell while it was flooding.
Brockhoff also is facing charges of disorderly conduct and harassment. His preliminary hearing is scheduled for Aug. 11.
Haley Daugherty is a TribLive reporter covering local politics, feature stories and Allegheny County news. A native of Pittsburgh, she lived in Alabama for six years. She joined the Trib in 2022 after graduating from Chatham University. She can be reached at hdaugherty@triblive.com.
Remove the ads from your TribLIVE reading experience but still support the journalists who create the content with TribLIVE Ad-Free.