Ligonier Township man accused of assaulting officer investigating domestic dispute

A Ligonier Township man is accused by police of assaulting an officer who was investigating a domestic violence report, according to court papers.

Jonathan O. Hillen, 33, is charged with assault of a law enforcement officer and resisting arrest.

Ligonier Valley police were called to his Route 30 home Tuesday for a domestic dispute, according to court papers. When officers arrived, Hillen asked them to leave and claimed there had not been a domestic situation. While one officer spoke with a woman at the scene, police said Hillen pushed a second officer out of the way in an attempt to get to the woman, according to court papers.

Hillen again tried to get to the woman by grabbing the arm of the second officer and attempting to run through him, police said. Officers reported that they took Hillen to the ground and used a Taser on him. Hillen posted $15,000 bond Wednesday and was released from the Westmoreland County Prison, according to online court records.

He did not have an attorney listed in online court records. An Oct. 1 preliminary hearing is set.

Calls for domestic disputes can be among the most dangerous for police, according to a 2018 study of law enforcement fatalities completed by the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund. From 2010-16, about 30% of law enforcement line-of-duty deaths happened during domestic dispute calls.

Officers are advised to go in pairs to investigate such incidents, according to a report from the agency.