Police officer charged with assaulting teen in Sheetz store in Ellwood City, Pennsylvania

An Ellwood City police officer was charged with assaulting a teenager inside a Sheetz store this summer, during a dispute over a lost phone, the Pennsylvania attorney general announced on Friday. 

Robert Magnifico, an Ellwood City sergeant who retired after the incident, was charged with simple assault, official oppression, tampering with public records and unsworn falsification to authorities, the attorney general's office said.

According to prosecutors, the 19-year-old forgot his phone at the Fifth Street Sheetz on June 6 and was told he could come get it back. When he arrived, the attorney general's office said workers wouldn't give him the phone, even though he provided information, including the passcode. 

Police were called, and when Magnifico arrived, prosecutors said he shoved the young man to the ground, threw his phone and berated him. The victim's friend was recording video of the confrontation, and prosecutors said Magnifico grabbed the friend's phone and threw it too. 

The video of the alleged assault went viral, prompting an investigation. Magnifico was suspended and demoted, and the attorney general's office said he has since retired.  

"The encounter, which was captured on video, shows a sworn officer engaged in abusive and intimidating behavior that is clearly out of bounds, and, in fact, a series of criminal acts," Attorney General Dave Sunday said. "Pennsylvanians should feel confident they can depend on law enforcement officers to protect them, and this one officer's actions threaten that sense of security."

A preliminary hearing for Magnifico is scheduled for Nov. 18.