Man accused of slapping Tarentum police officer he thought called CYS on kids faces assault trial

A man accused of stalking a Tarentum police officer and then slapping him across the face has been ordered to stand trial.

Bryaunt C. Williams, 38, of the 200 block of West Eighth Avenue in Tarentum was arrested May 19 and charged with a felony count of aggravated assault, along with 10 counts of making terroristic threats and a count of stalking.

Williams was being detained in the Allegheny County Jail after a judge denied setting bail because he is considered a danger to the community, according to court records.

Williams waived his right to a preliminary hearing Wednesday before District Judge Carolyn Bengel, who ordered him to stand trial. Eight of the 10 terroristic threat charges were withdrawn during the hearing.

Formal arraignment is scheduled in Allegheny County Court on July 31, court records show.

Police wrote in a criminal complaint that Williams was parked across the street from the Tarentum police station as an officer was ending his shift at midnight.

The officer was in the parking lot and about to get into his vehicle when Williams approached him in “an aggressive manner” and confronted him about an incident at his home the previous night, the complaint said.

Williams is accused of “getting in the officer’s face” and then slapping him because he thought the officer reported his children to the Allegheny County Office of Children, Youth and Families, the complaint said.

The officer pushed Williams away and told him he didn’t know what he was talking about.

Police said Williams accused another Tarentum police officer of causing him trauma by putting a gun to his head.

According to the complaint, Williams told the officer: “As you can see, I will come and wait for you and figure out where you live.”

Investigators said Williams told the officer that he “holds government contracts” and the “ability to get Dracos” — a high powered semi-automatic pistol made in Romania that looks like a miniature version of an AK-47 rifle.

Williams told the officer Tarentum police “better watch out” because he is “passionate” about his children. And “if he has to go down, everyone’s going down,” the complaint said.

A warrant was issued for Williams arrest after the officer gave investigators a statement and they reviewed video surveillance of the incident, the complaint said.