McKeesport sued for alleged violations of Sunshine Act
By JEFF STITT
jstitt@yourmvi.com
A former McKeesport councilwoman has joined a group of “McKeesport Citizens” in filing a lawsuit against the city and its council, alleging First Amendment and Pennsylvania Sunshine Act violations.
A press release issued Monday by the ACLU of Pennsylvania states that on Jan. 6, McKeesport residents and members of the Take Action Mon Valley activism group “were denied the ability to attend, both in-person and virtually, a meeting of the McKeesport City Council in which residents were planning to address the actions of police in December during the search for a shooting suspect.”
Courtney Thompkins, Tracey Jordan and Janina Riley, listed in Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas records as “McKeesport Citizens,” and former Councilwoman Valian “Fawn” Walker Montgomery are being represented by American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania legal Director Witold “Vic” Walczak, along with Charles Kelly and other attorneys from Saul Ewing Arnstein & Lehr of Pittsburgh.
McKeesport and its city council are named as defendants in the case and are represented by city solicitor Jason Elash. Allegheny County Judge John T. McVay is presiding.
Walker Montgomery is TAMV’s co-founder and executive director.
In its release and in court filings, the ACLU refers to an investigation into the shooting of McKeesport police officer Gerasimos “Jerry” Athans. He suffered three gunshot wounds Dec. 20 outside the McKeesport police station and was discharged from an area hospital just in time to spend Christmas with his family.
Koby Lee Francis, 22, of McKeesport was held for trial Feb. 12 on charges of attempted homicide, assault of a law enforcement officer, aggravated assault, flight to avoid apprehension, escape, two counts of carrying a firearm without a license and two counts of illegal possession of a firearm. Others have also been charged in connection with the incident.
The ACLU said city residents felt police violated their rights during the search for Francis, who was found and arrested in West Virginia nine days after the shooting, and that those residents were working with TAMV “to publicly organize a number of residents to share oral comments on the issue” at the January meeting.
To read the rest of the story, please see a copy of Wednesday’s Mon Valley Independent, call 724-314-0035 to subscribe or subscribe to our online edition at http://monvalleyindependent.com.
