Small-town Pennsylvania officers kicked, punched and choked arrestees, indictment alleges

MOUNT CARMEL, Pa. (AP) — Federal prosecutors say three small-town Pennsylvania police officers collectively “kicked, punched, choked and otherwise used excessive force” in 22 arrests over a three-year period. The charges unveiled Friday accuse one current Mount Carmel officer and two former officers of violating civil rights in attacks between 2018 and 2021 that caused injuries. The officers were indicted Thursday. Their lawyers declined to comment or didn’t respond to messages. The indictment accuses the three men of trying to hide their alleged crimes by avoiding cameras and lying about the victims. Grand jurors wrote that they “falsely reported that arrestees acted in a manner requiring violence and then falsely charged arrestees with criminal offenses.”