Westmoreland settles lawsuit that alleged excessive force at juvenile detention center

Westmoreland County commissioners have agreed to settle a lawsuit that claimed excessive force was used against a teen at the county’s juvenile detention center in Hempfield.

In the federal lawsuit, the teen said four corrections officers at the Regional Youth Services Center put him into a choke hold and slammed his head as they forcibly detained him in a room in February 2022 as he attempted to make a telephone call to his mother.

Commissioners last week approved an $11,000 settlement to end the case. Defense lawyer Anthony Giannetti, citing confidentiality requirements, declined to discuss specifics of the case but confirmed the settlement was reached following court-ordered mediation.

The lawsuit alleged the teen was knocked unconscious, had facial injuries and was hospitalized after the incident and suffered post concussion symptoms as a result of actions by juvenile detention center employees. According to the lawsuit, the juvenile and his parents argued Westmoreland County’s juvenile workers were not properly trained and were taught to use excessive force.

County lawyers rejected those claims.

The settlement comes as efforts to reopen the juvenile detention center continue. It was closed in June amid staffing shortages and subsequent state inspections that cited multiple issues that included a finding of force related to another incident from earlier this year.

Inspectors found in a report released in August that an outnumbered staff, fearful of a riot, used unauthorized headlocks and torso holds to quell a disturbance at the detention center.

“To the best of my knowledge, we’re hoping to get it up and running by the end of this month,” said Controller Jeff Balzer, who serves as chairman of the county’s juvenile detention center board.

An eight-bed shelter program for nonviolent troubled youth, located in the same building, continues to operate.