MPD Investigates Friday Arrest

Meadville – Meadville’s Police Department is running an internal investigation after a video showed at least one police officer striking a man during an arrest on Friday evening. The arrest, according to Chief Mike Stefanucci, was about felony drug charges. A video posted on social media on Friday evening showed the suspect struggling with an MPD officer trying to restrain them on the pavement of Baldwin Street as multiple cars pass by. The confrontation lasts about 70 seconds before another officer arrives on the scene, exits their vehicle, and strikes the suspect repeatedly. The struggle continues for a few more seconds with much of the view obscured by a police vehicle, but at 1:35 seconds, one of the officers can clearly be seen punching the suspect multiple times as he screams. 
More officers arrived at that same time, making the action harder to follow, but exclamations can be heard throughout the more than 5-minute run time. Both Police Chief Mike Stefanucci and Mayor Jamie Kinder said they would be reviewing footage from the body cameras worn by MPD officers at the scene. In a public statement issued Friday night, the chief stated he understands how incidents like this can erode public trust and asked anyone else who has footage of the incident to forward it to him at MStef@police.cityofmeadville.org.
On Sunday, Chief Stefanucci revealed the man in the video was being arrested for a felony drug warrant. He was taken to Meadville Medical Center, where doctors said he had no injuries aside from some abrasions. They are now being held in Crawford County Jail on $250,000 bail.