All charges dismissed against Westmoreland jail guard union leader

The president of the union that represents corrections officers at Westmoreland County Prison will remain off the job pending an internal investigation although charges related to a July domestic dispute were dismissed Wednesday.

Scott Kennedy, 40, of North Irwin, was charged this month with strangulation, terroristic threats, simple assault and harassment.

Police said Kennedy grabbed a woman by the hair and forced her to the ground as they left a North Huntingdon brewery. When they arrived at an apartment in North Irwin, Kennedy again grabbed her hair, forced her to the ground by her throat and pushed his fist into her mouth, police wrote in a criminal complaint.

The woman fled the apartment and ran barefoot to the Irwin Police Department, according to court papers.

North Huntingdon District Judge Wayne Gongaware dismissed all charges against Kennedy.

Kennedy maintained his innocence and on Wednesday said he intended to resume his duties as president of the United Mine Workers of America Local 522. Following his arrest, Kennedy was suspended with pay by county officials. He said the county subsequently converted the suspension to unpaid status.

Kennedy has worked as a jail guard for the county since 2001 and, according to payroll records, earned an annual salary of $55,411.

Prison Warden Bryan Kline said Kennedy will remain off the job.

“There’s an internal investigation still going on. We’ll have to look at the court dockets and talk to the human resources office and go from there,” Kline said.

District Attorney Nicole Ziccarelli did not respond to a request for comment.