Family of man who died after being tackled by Beaver County police officer settles wrongful death suit for $950K
The sister of a Beaver County man who died in November after being tackled by a Center Township police officer has settled with the officer and the township for $950,000.
Deborah Little agreed Thursday to the nearly $1 million settlement, 40% of which was attributed to the wrongful death of her brother, Kenneth E. Vinyard, 48, of Industry, according to settlement papers filed in federal court.
Neither Scott G. Dunlop, the Pittsburgh attorney who represented Center Township in the case, nor Jordan Shuber, who represented the officer, returned requests for comment Tuesday.
Little filed the complaint in federal court Jan. 17 on behalf of Vinyard against the township and Officer John Hawk.
The lawsuit said Marcy Beatty, Vinyard’s fiancee, drove him and a friend to Walmart on Nov. 6. As Beatty was in the store and Vinyard and his friend remained in the car, a man was shot in the parking lot.
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The lawsuit said Vinyard chased the vehicle believed to belong to the shooter to get the license plate information, which he did.
Vinyard then returned to the wounded victim to provide first aid, the complaint said.
First responders soon arrived. Hawk was among them, although he was not on duty and was wearing civilian clothing, the complaint said. The lawsuit said Hawk never identified himself as a police officer.
The lawsuit said Hawk approached Vinyard to remove him from the scene and then attacked him “without any provocation by anyone.”
The complaint said Hawk “forcibly and violently propelled (Vinyard) to the ground, causing (him) to strike his head on the pavement” and fracturing his skull. The complaint said Vinyard suffered a seizure after hitting his head on the pavement.
Beatty began chest compressions on him, but Vinyard was unresponsive. He was taken to the Heritage Valley Beaver hospital, where he later died.
The lawsuit said Vinyard never acted aggressively or threatened Hawk or anyone else that evening.
The officer’s employment status with Center Township was unclear Tuesday. Center Township police did not return a call for comment.
Justin Vellucci is a TribLive reporter covering crime and public safety in Pittsburgh and Allegheny County. A longtime freelance journalist and former reporter for the Asbury Park (N.J.) Press, he worked as a general assignment reporter at the Trib from 2006 to 2009 and returned in 2022. He can be reached at jvellucci@triblive.com.
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