Police: Taser used on Parks man who ran from officer

A Vandergrift police officer used a Taser twice to subdue a fleeing suspect last month.

Police say Brandon John Krawczyk, 38, of Parks Township was wanted on multiple arrest warrants when an officer spotted him in the 100 block of First Street shortly after 2 p.m. Aug. 21, according to his arrest papers.

The officer gave chase on foot when Krawczyk took off running. The officer lost sight of Krawczyk near Farragut Avenue.

A second Vandergrift officer who joined the search in his patrol vehicle was flagged down by a motorist who said he saw a man running across the bridge into Parks Township, the complaint said.

Residents who saw the fleeing man pointed police to a home along Jefferson Street where Krawczyk was seen running, according to the complaint.

The patrol officer chased Krawczyk on foot after spotting him in a yard at the corner of Jefferson and Jackson streets, but he refused orders to surrender, police said.

The foot chase ended when Krawczyk fell on the ground after trying to jump a 6-foot fence, police said.

He was Tasered after trying to get up when the officer ordered him to stop, the complaint said.

The Taser was fired a second time when Krawczyk placed his hands in the waistband of his pants. The officer said he did not know whether the man was armed.

A utility knife was found in the back pocket of Krawczyk’s jeans, police said.

Krawczyk, of the 1000 block of Laurel Point Lane, was charged with a felony count of fleeing to avoid apprehension along with resisting arrest.

He was being detained in the Westmoreland County jail after his bail was denied. He faces a preliminary hearing Sept. 13 before District Judge Cheryl Peck Yacopek.

Krawczyk did not have a lawyer listed in court documents.

Krawczyk also will have a preliminary hearing Sept. 13 for criminal trespass charges filed by Vandergrift police Aug. 17 along with counts of resisting arrest, simple assault and harassment filed by borough officers July 21, according to court records.

Court records show that a judge in May ordered Krawczyk to stand trial on two felony counts of criminal trespass filed by Vandergrift police.

In June, Krawczyk was ordered by a judge to stand trial on two felony theft charges and a count of drug possession after state police in Armstrong County accused him of trying to sell a camping trailer that he didn’t own.

State criminal court records show that:

• In April, Krawczyk pleaded guilty to felony counts of theft by deception and taking payment for services that were not performed and was sentenced to two years of probation.

• In March 2021, he pleaded guilty to misdemeanor counts of simple assault, defiant trespass and strangulation and received two years of probation.

• In 2009, he was sentenced to six months of probation for a theft conviction.

• In 2012, a judge ordered him to serve a year of probation for a retail theft conviction.