Written by *-Donora Police 
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A man has been charged for an incident that happened Wednesday where an officer allegedly assaulted a man in Donora.
The man recording the incident, Sean Fronzaglio, was charged with disorderly conduct and obstructing the law.
Some community members were upset by the video footage showing the altercation, causing them to want a local police officer to step down.
Fronzaglio said the incident all started when he showed up at his grandmother’s house in hopes of helping deescalate a confrontation there between two family members.
“My family actually got into an altercation and my mother got called to go up and, like, deescalate the situation,” Fronzaglio said. “So, I went up to try to also deescalate the situation. When I walked in, at first, everything was cordial. I was trying to calm everybody down, me and the officers were speaking. They were trying to catch me up on what was going on and then when I asked why my 73-year-old grandmother was being removed instead of my cousin, they told me to leave and go outside. We heard that they were calling my grandmother an old B, to like begin. I just felt the way that they were handling her was completely unprofessional.
He said he went outside and began recording when the two officers on scene appeared to be leaving.
In the video, Fronzaglio asks one of the officers if he could walk by him and his cruiser.
“Can I walk past yinz or are yinz gonna get scared,” Fronzaglio is heard saying in the video.
“No, come on,” an officer is heard responding to Fronzaglio.
Seconds later, Fronzaglio began to pass by, when both he and the officer tell each other to have a good night. The officer is also heard saying, “make sure you post [the video] on Facebook,” and introduced himself as Officer Cunningham.
“Yeah, tough guy,” Fronzaglio then said.
Moments later, the officer approaches Fronzaglio.
“Are you going to arrest me because I called you tough?” Fronzaglio said.
“No. I just don’t understand what your problem is,” the officer said.
Video then shows the officer right in front of Fronzaglio.
“That’s right. I’m right here. I am,” the officer said. “I’m standing here.”
“Oh so you can walk freely after me? Cool. Tough guy,” Fronzaglio said.
That’s when the video appears to show the officer smack Fronzaglio’s phone out of his hand to the ground. Another officer then put handcuffs on Fronzaglio.
“He just kept antagonizing me, asking me to do something. He just kept saying, ‘do something, do something,'” Fronzaglio said. “I just thought we were engaged in a civil conversation, but then he, like, punched my phone out my hand, and he stepped to my face after, he stepped in my face, but I put my hands behind my back for his partner to arrest me.”
Another family member also showed up as the confrontation happened and told KDKA-TV she also felt the officer was being aggressive toward her.
“I asked what was going on with my 73-year-old grandmother because she got kicked out of her house. I was kind of confused on what was going on, and he just came at me hostile, like, really hostile, yelling, screaming,” Tashay Fronzaglio said.
Now, they both want to see that officer resign.
“Our community is scared for our safety. I’m scared for my kids. He harasses a lot of people, like, he is very dangerous, and I don’t think he should have a badge,” Tashay said.
“I just hope this sheds light on his actions and some type of reform can be taken at the Donora police station and other police stations that allow this type of conduct to go on within their departments. It’s just a shame,” Fronzaglio said.
Fronzaglio was eventually released.
“I mean, I get some could say I was being a bit provocative, you know, trying to provoke him or whatnot. But, I mean, at the end of the day, he was doing the same, and I, you know, I did not at any point in time cause or threaten any bodily harm to him, you know? So, I don’t understand how he has more rights than me, but, you know, that’s where we’re at right now, and hopefully we can figure it out and get it resolved,” Fronzaglio said.
KDKA-TV reached out to the Donora police chief who said Cunningham has worked for the department since August.
Chief Neal Rands said while the situation could have been handled differently, at no time did Officer Cunningham use excessive force.
“There’s no physical contact besides being handcuffed,” Rands said. “No medical treatment was needed.”
Rands went on to say that while it appears Cunningham may have knocked the phone out of Fronzaglio’s hand, he said he was actually reaching to handcuff him. He said his department is investigating, but as of now, Cunningham is still on the job.
https://www.cbsnews.com/pittsburgh/news/donora-police-officer-phone-hand-video-shows-assault/