Allegations of police brutality probed in Chester Co.

Allegations that a trooper stomped on the head of a Chester County man as he lay facedown on a tile floor in handcuffs are under investigation, state police said this week.

The attack caused "great pain and medical expense" to Zachary W. Bare, 30, of Exton, "forcing his teeth back up into his gums and breaking his nose from the inside out," his attorney wrote in a private criminal complaint filed Monday.

Attorney Joseph P. Green Jr. said that at first Bare did not know who had knocked out his teeth, so Green initiated litigation to obtain township police reports, which led to the identification of State Trooper Kelly Cruz.

Attorney Robert J. Donatoni said Wednesday that he was representing Cruz, a "prolific and productive narcotics agent" who has served several tours of combat in the Middle East, and has been in contact with state police.

"When the time comes for Kelly Cruz to be questioned, he will cooperate and answer all questions pertaining to the internal investigation," Donatoni said.

Police reports indicate that Bare was apprehended but not charged in connection with an August drug raid.

Jack Lewis, state police spokesman, confirmed an "open investigation" into the allegations. He said he expected the probe to be completed "within the next two or three weeks."

Green said that on Sept. 2 he filed a report with the state police, who interviewed Bare on Sept. 16.

"There's no justification for this investigation to have taken more than two months," Green said. "If justice is to be applied evenly, it has to apply equally to everyone - state police included."

On Monday, Green filed a private criminal complaint with the Chester County District Attorney's Office.

District Attorney Joseph W. Carroll said he immediately referred the case to the Attorney General's Office to avoid any appearance of conflict. Representatives from the Attorney General's Office were not available for comment.

According to West Whiteland police reports, Bare was apprehended after a drug raid because he matched the description of a male who had fled from the targeted residence in the 500 block of East Swedesford Road in Exton.

During interviews, township police said they concluded that Bare had not been at the methamphetamine lab during the execution of a search warrant. He was wearing shorts and no shirt - the description broadcast of the fleeing suspect - because he had been swimming in the Brandywine Creek, police said.

A report by Officer Jeffery McCloskey, who took Bare into custody, said he had left Bare, who was lying on his kitchen floor with his hands cuffed behind his back, with "an unknown Pennsylvania state trooper with a black mask over his face," and Sgt. Matthew Herkner.

Herkner's report said that after he shackled Bare, he left to check the rest of the residence.

Officer Glenn L. Cockerham said in a report that he heard "muffled yelling" and went to the kitchen, where he witnessed an "unknown masked" trooper "pushing Bare's face into the kitchen floor" with his right foot.

"I saw Bare lift his head and spit out blood and teeth onto the kitchen floor," Cockerham's report said, adding that investigators had identified Bare as frequently "having involvement in the activities" of the suspected methamphetamine lab.

McCloskey said that when he returned to the kitchen, he saw the trooper standing over Bare, who was bleeding from the mouth and yelling that the trooper had kicked him.

Donatoni said Cruz was asked to participate in the township's drug operation because of his expertise.

"Meth labs are extremely dangerous: They can explode," Donatoni said.

Bare had been "flagged by investigators as being dangerous and having a weapon," Donatoni said.

"Kelly Cruz is not the type of trooper - in light of his training through the police and the military - who, in front of another officer, would stomp a guy unless he perceived a danger to himself or others," Donatoni said.