Man Arrested For Probation Violation Says Police Beat Him

By: KDKA-TV News Staff

LIGONIER (KDKA) -- A man previously acquitted of killing an officer is accusing police of beating him while they arrested him earlier this month for a parole violation.

"And they beat my skull in. They got seven staples holding my skull back together," Ray Shetler Jr. said.

He appeared in court on Friday for a preliminary hearing for those probation charges.

He was previously acquitted in 2018 of killing Saint Clair Township Police Officer Lloyd Reed Jr.

But this month, he was arrested for violating probation and charged with aggravated assault for allegedly fighting officers.

On Friday, Shetler accused the police of severely beating him.

"They were all screaming 'that was for Reid, that was for Reid.' And Mr. Reid has nothing to do with this case right now and they brought him into this, why?"

Shetler was treated for an eye socket fracture after his arrest.

Police say an officer who arrested Shetler was treated for shoulder and facial injuries.