A Pittsburgh police detective was charged Wednesday with assault for allegedly braining a man with a full beer bottle during a bar fight last month, leaving a 6-inch gash in the man’s forehead.
The man investigators said he hit was also charged in the brawl.
Det. Richard L. Dilimone Jr., 36, of Adams Township in Butler County, was charged by Pleasant Hills police with aggravated assault in connection with the late-night fight in February at bar in the borough.
Edward Estes, also 36, of Pittsburgh, was charged with simple assault.
Cara Cruz, a police spokeswoman, said Dilimone is on paid administrative leave “pending the outcome of the legal process in this matter.”
Dilimone hung up Wednesday when called by a TribLive reporter.
Attorney Casey White, who represents Estes, said his client acted in self-defense “when he was initially accosted by an off-duty City of Pittsburgh police officer.”
“This was a chaotic situation inside a crowded bar — and most of the facts are far from clear at this point,” White told TribLive Wednesday.
Nicole Nino, who represents Dilimone, said she looked forward to commenting on March 25, when both men are scheduled to have preliminary hearings.
Pleasant Hills police said last month they were investigating a fight involving four off-duty Pittsburgh police officers at the Pleasant Bar on Old Clairton Road.
Three other Pittsburgh police officers who were originally placed on administrative leave during an internal investigation have all returned to work.
They have not been publicly named. Pittsburgh police would not identify them “as they are not charged with any crimes and the incident they were involved in occurred while they were off duty and outside of the City of Pittsburgh,” Cruz told TribLive.
Dilimone joined the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police on Feb. 2, 2015, records obtained by TribLive show. His salary last year was $90,972.
The head of the police union, which represents the bureau’s rank and file, declined comment.
Fight is on video
Pleasant Hills police were dispatched around 1 a.m. on Feb. 8, a Sunday, to the Pleasant Bar after the fight was reported, according to a criminal complaint in the case.
During the fight, Estes punched a man in the nose, the complaint said.
Then, Dilimone hit Estes in the forehead with the bottle, opening a gash that required first responders to take the South Side man to the hospital, according to the complaint.
The six-sentence complaints against both Estes and Dilimone were similar and offered few details.
Security cameras at what is known as “The P Bar” recorded the fight, the complaint said.
White, Estes’ attorney, said his client went to the bar Feb. 7 around 6:45 p.m. to watch basketball with friends.
Another buddy who Estes hadn’t seen for several years arrived. A short time later, Estes saw the man engaged with a group of men in street clothes. He later learned they were Pittsburgh police officers.
They began to argue, White said, so his client approached, and walked his friend out of the bar’s back door.
Estes returned to the group, saying “ ‘Hey, it’s cool. No worries. We walked him out,’ ” White told TribLive.
That’s when, White continued, the city officers became verbally abusive and cursed.
“ ‘He’s going to get knocked the (expletive) out, and I’ll knock you out, too,’ ” White said the men told his client.
“My guy felt threatened,” White said. “He thought he was going to get hit.”
It was his client who threw the first punch, White said.
Moments later, he continued, one of the city officers — later identified as Dilimone — hit Estes over the head with a beer bottle, leaving a 6-inch gash in the middle of his forehead, which will require plastic surgery, according to White.
Estes went down to the floor, and the group continued to kick and punch him, according to White.
After Estes was able to get up, he was treated by paramedics and taken to the hospital where he received at least nine stitches, White said.
The group of officers left the bar before police arrived that night, White continued.
Pleasant Hills police did not return phone calls Wednesday seeking comment.
Correction: This story has been updated to reflect that Edward Estes did not hit Pittsburgh police Det. Richard L. Dilimone Jr. He struck a different person at the Pleasant Bar.
