Trial to begin Tuesday for West Caln Township officer charged with assault during traffic stop
WEST CHESTER, Pa. (CBS) -- The trial of a Chester County police officer is scheduled to begin this week, after investigators charged him with assault during a traffic stop.
Outside the Chester County courthouse, Takeshia Landry and her daughter were moved to tears as they discussed what they say was a nightmare police stop on Route 340 at Compass Road on Nov. 10, 2021.
"It's bringing me back to that particular night that it occurred. I don't feel like I can rely on law enforcement," Landry said. "To be brutalized and assaulted by someone that's supposed to be upholding the law, it's very detrimental."
Court records show West Caln Township Sergeant Anthony Sparano, a white officer, pulled Landry, a Black woman, over for turning left on a red light and asked for her license and registration.
Court records then show Landry failed to comply and when Sparano tried to open her car door, Landry drove away.
That's when the criminal complaint states Sparano fired one shot at her car.
In the criminal complaint, another police officer said the bullet struck the rear driver's side window and shattered the glass.
"She came, I would say, less than two inches away from her death," Richard Gordon, Landry's attorney, said.
Video provided by Landry's lawyers – that CBS News Philadelphia has not authenticated – allegedly shows the moments after Landry pulled over a second time.
"That's when he immediately started punching me in my face and grabbing me by my hair and pulling me out of my vehicle even though I still had my seatbelt on," Landry said.
Sparano is charged with two misdemeanors including simple assault.
Racial justice advocates are asking for further investigation.
"We have written two letters to the Justice Department asking them to get involved in this case," Elder James Johnson III, founder of the Racial Justice Network, said.
CBS News Philadelphia reached out to the West Caln Township Police Department to ask if Sergeant Sparano – who is listed on its website as a full-time employee – is still with the department and was told "no comment."
CBS News Philadelphia also reached out to Sparano's attorney to get his side and was told "no comment."
"We hope that we see justice so that she can get some peace of mind, so that we all can get some peace of mind," Landry's daughter said.
The trial is set to begin Tuesday morning.
