A state trooper on patrol Tuesday on Interstate 70 used a Taser on a Clearfield County truck driver because he was aggressive toward the officer, according to police.
Dale Edward Hollobaugh, 64, is free on $25,000 unsecured bond on charges of risking a catastrophe, resisting arrest, disorderly conduct and summary traffic violations.
The trooper was checking the speed of passing eastbound traffic at 5:45 p.m. near the Washington and Westmoreland County border, where the speed limit is 45 mph. A car and tractor-trailer were both traveling faster than the speed limit, and the trooper pulled out after the car, according to court papers.
The tractor-trailer, which was behind the trooper’s cruiser, began changing lanes multiple times without signaling and closing in on the patrol car, police said. The trooper and truck driver stopped at the North Belle Vernon exit ramp.
Hollobaugh began screaming at the trooper in a menacing manner and swung a fist at the trooper’s hands when the officer placed them on the suspect’s chest in an effort to get him to move to the front of his patrol unit, according to court papers. Hollobaugh started walking away when the trooper deployed his Taser after ordering him to stop, police said.
Hollobaugh disputed some of the allegations when contacted by the Tribune-Review.
The trooper “pulled out right in front of me; I have no idea how I didn’t hit him,” Hollobaugh said.
He was hit with the Taser while walking toward the front of the police cruiser, as the trooper had instructed him to do, according to court papers.
The situation left him shaken and with cuts and bruises, Hollobaugh said.
“I feel for people that have this happen to them,” he said. “I’m not this kind of person. I didn’t deserve this. I didn’t do anything to deserve the treatment that I got.”
A June 24 preliminary hearing is set.
