Chester police: Beaten man had gun, assaulted officer

A Chester man who was severely beaten by police last weekend, in an incident captured on video, set off the fracas by assaulting an officer and was carrying a stolen gun, officials said Thursday.

Walter "Ed" Moat, 49, is being held at the Delaware County prison on assault and weapons charges as a result of an arrest Sunday during which he was pummeled, beaten, and Tasered by several officers.

In the days since his arrest, witnesses and friends of Moat - who say he has a mental disability - have alleged police brutality. At a Thursday afternoon news conference, District Attorney Jack Whelan defended the police, saying he did not believe they used excessive force.

Whelan's office is investigating the incident, and a conclusion could take weeks, he said. However, after reviewing the video taken by a witness, Whelan said, police used "sufficient force, minimal force ... to keep him under control."

"This is a dangerous individual," he said of Moat, adding that he injured three officers during the incident and has an arrest record dating to 1985.

Chester Police Sgt. Steven Gretsky said in an affidavit of probable cause that the incident began Sunday morning, when Moat was stopped for driving the wrong way on a one-way street. During the traffic stop, according to Gretsky, Moat reached toward his waist and "attempted to retrieve or conceal an unknown item" several times.

The affidavit gives the following account:

The incident quickly flared into violence once police removed Moat from the car and retrieved a gun from his waist. Moat struck Gretsky in the face, breaking his glasses.

A fight ensued, additional officers were called, and Moat was forced to the ground and Tasered - having no effect, the affidavit said, as he continued to "kick, punch, and spit at officers."

Eventually, Moat was taken into custody and transported to Crozer-Chester Medical Center for treatment of a laceration, the affidavit said. Once there, Whelan said, Moat spit at nurses and threatened security officers.

Several neighbors who witnessed the incident - at least one of whom captured the interaction on video - have disputed the official account, saying that they never saw Moat with a gun, and that he was kicked and beaten nearly unconscious with batons until he was "bleeding from every part of his face," according to Diana Ruh, one neighbor.

Officers from both Chester City and Township were involved. As many as five officers, at least three of them white, neighbors said, apprehended Moat. Moat is black.

Video footage was taken after Moat got out of the car, but images of the moments leading up to the beating were unclear. Neither police department is equipped with body cameras or dashboard cameras.

The incident is "not as it was being perceived by certain individuals that were there," Whelan said.

It occurred near Lehman and Honan Streets. Whelan said that police initially went to the area in response to a suspected break-in, though Whelan said it is unclear if Moat was involved. Moat has a history of theft, he said.

Charges against Moat include aggravated assault of four officers, unlawful possession and theft of a firearm, resisting arrest, and driving with a suspended license.

Neighbors who know Moat said he is "completely harmless" and a friend to many in the neighborhood. Whelan said Chester police have encountered and apprehended Moat multiple times in the past.

Bail for Moat has been set at $175,000.

Moat's arrests including one for possessing a firearm. In 2009, he was convicted of simple assault and resisting arrest in an incident involving Philadelphia police.

610-313-8113@mccabe_caitlin