Ex-police sergeant sentenced to 27 months for excessive force
Saying his conduct “undermines public confidence” in the “good men and women” of the Pittsburgh police force, a federal judge on Wednesday sentenced a former city sergeant to more than two years in prison for beating up an intoxicated teenager outside Heinz Field.
U.S. District Judge Cathy Bissoon imposed a term of 27 months on Stephen Matakovich.
Prosecutors had asked for 27 to 33 months, saying Matakovich assaulted Gabriel Despres and then lied about it.
Matakovich and his lawyer, Tina Miller, argued for probation, saying that he thought Mr. Despres was going to attack him and that he had an exemplary career as an officer.
“There’s more to me than 11 seconds of potential misinterpretation,” Matakovich said.
But the judge said prison was necessary because Matakovich instigated the incident and then concocted a story to cover up what he’d done.
She said Matakovich’s long career of service as an officer as outlined by character witnesses and many letters didn’t outweigh what he did to Mr. Despres, then 19, in 2015.
A jury in May convicted him of using excessive force against Mr. Despres during high school football playoffs. The jury found him not guilty of falsifying reports.
Despite the jury’s verdict on
She said the Matakovich case was similar to that of Nicole Murphy, a Millvale officer convicted of using a Taser on a handcuffed prisoner. U.S. District Judge Arthur Schwab gave her probation and community service, and Ms. Miller wanted the same for her client.
She had also cited former Springdale officer Mark Thom Jr., who received a year in prison for punching and using a Taser on a handcuffed man. Ms. Miller argued that his case was different because he had been the subject of many complaints.
But that tactic, said Assistant U.S. Attorney Cindy Chung, opened the door for prosecutors to introduce Matakovich’s disciplinary history, including 34 complaints with the city’s Office of Municipal Investigations, including 11 alleging too much force. Three of those were sustained, prosecutors said.
Ms. Chung said her office wouldn’t have brought up the OMI complaints had Ms. Miller not referred to complaints in the Thom case.
Ms. Miller said citizen complaints are not evidence of wrongdoing.
“Complaints can be filed by anyone about anything,” she said.
Matakovich made a similar point, saying he dealt mostly with drunks on the South Side who are unpredictable and sometimes violent.
“I’m going to have complaints filed against me,” he said.
The judge took note of the complaints but said she recognized that they are not necessarily valid.
The judge also ordered Matakovich to pay $900 in restitution to Mr. Despres and serve three years of probation when he gets out of prison.