Trooper found not guilty on oppression charge

Mistrial declared on simple assault charge against John Sromovsky due to hung jury

WEST CHESTER » A Pennsylvania state trooper who allegedly punched a man suspected of drunk driving while the man was handcuffed in a patrol car has been acquitted on two misdemeanor charges he faced at trial last week.

But the Common Pleas Court jury in Senior Judge Thomas Gavin’s courtroom said Thursday that it could not come to a unanimous decision on whether John Robert Sromovsky, who served at the Avondale state police barracks until his arrest last year, was guilty of illegally assaulting the man, an undocumented immigrant from Mexico.

The panel of nine men and three women found Sromovsky, who the prosecutor called a “rogue state trooper” who “flew off the handle” in the incident, not guilty of charges of official oppression and terroristic threats. It remained hung on the charge of simple assault, however, after deliberating about six hours on Thursday.

Gavin declared a mistrial on the assault charge and dismissed the jury around 7:30 p.m.

Cynthia Morgan, the assistant district attorney who led the prosecution with her colleague Tanner Jacobs, said that her office planned to retry Sromovsky on the simple assault charge, also a misdemeanor.

Sromovsky, 34, of Upper Chichester, Delaware County, a nineyear veteran of the state police, testified in his defense that he had done nothing wrong in the incident, which was captured on a video recorder in the state police cruiser where the DUI suspect, Lorenzo Lopez was seated, belted in with his hands cuffed behind his back. He said he was concerned about the safety of himself and his fellow officers on the scene because of Lopez’s reckless behavior in the state police SUV.

His attorney, Christian Hoey of Paoli, told the jury in his closing argument that the prosecution was acting as a “Monday morning quarterback” in charging Sromovsky. He said the trooper had acted within the law and state police procedure to control the situation, which had been described as a fight with an unruly subject in radio calls prior to Sromovsky’s arrival on the scene.

“He engaged him to get control,” Hoey said of the blow that Sromovsky delivered to Lopez’s face as the two exchanged words. “He had a basis to use reasonable force.” Even with handcuffs on, he posed an immediate threat.

Hoey said the video that the prosecution had played for the jury slowed down the incident to the point where it did not truly capture the tension of the moment and Sromovsky’s intention to contain Lopez’s behavior. He likened it to a review of a football play by off-site referees. “That’s not the way things happen in the real world,” he argued.

In her closing, Morgan noted that Sromovsky had taken an oath to uphold the law and treat members of the public with respect when he became a state trooper. “He broke that code of honor,” she said. “He broke that oath.”

She noted that other troopers and police officers at the scene had not considered Lopez to pose a threat once he was handcuffed and placed in the cruiser. “He

was never in danger. His fellow officers were not in any danger. He was acting as a bully,” Morgan said.

“The only person who was a danger that night was John Sromovsky,” she said. “He heightened the situation.”

According to a criminal complaint filed in the case, Lopez was stopped and taken into custody around 10 p.m. Sept. 9, 2016 on Gap-Newport Pike in Avondale on suspicion of DUI. Lopez was combative with the trooper who stopped him, Andrew Revels, and had to be subdued by officers who ultimately maneuvered him in the passenger seat of a patrol car, in handcuffs.

Sromovsky, who was on duty and in uniform, heard a call for backup because of the fight, and arrived on the scene after Lopez had been subdued. He approached the cruiser and opened the opposite side door to confront Lopez. Portions of the encounter were captured on a Mobile Video Recorder inside

the car.

“What (expletive deleted) are you crying for, huh?” Sromovsky reportedly asked Lopez, of Wilmington, an undocumented immigrant who is also known as Augustine Peleayz.. “I’ll give you a reason to cry (expletive)!” His fist can be seen striking Lopez in the face, which Morgan contended caused a bloody nose. Lopez, who was intoxicated, began to yell. “Give me more! Give me more!” while leaning across the car seat. “Give you more?” Sromovsky asked, and Lopez’s face can be seen jerking back towards the passenger side of the vehicle, the effect of a second blow by the trooper.

Sromovsky is currently free on bail pending a retrial, but has been suspended without pay, according to a state police spokesman.