Ex-resource officer charged with assaulting student

A former Connellsville Area School District resource officer has been charged after police said he slammed a student to the ground and handcuffed him after he refused to go to the principal’s office.

Officer James Shaw Sr., 54, is charged with a felony count of false imprisonment of a minor and four felony counts of intercepting communications. He also faces two simple assault counts and charges of recklessly endangering another person, unlawful restraint, coerce/ threat accuse of crime, and harassment, according to court documents.

In addition to the alleged assault, Officer Shaw is accused of illegally recording a meeting with an official and oneof the student’s parents.

The charges stem from an incident in October when Officer Shaw stopped a teen for allegedly vaping on high school property, Post-Gazette news partner KDKA-TV reported. The teen allegedly ignored Officer Shaw’s commands to come with him, KDKA said, before “slamming” the young man to the ground. Officer Shaw is accused of illegally recording a meeting with the student’s mother during a subsequent meeting with the principal.

The Connellsville school district declined to comment, saying only that Officer Shaw is “not presently acting in any capacity with or on behalf” of the district.

Officer Shaw, in an unrelated case, faces charges of official oppression after a woman accused him of pulling her over in Westmoreland County while off duty and out of his jurisdictional authority, KDKA reported. Officer Shaw was reportedly in his personal car and not in uniform, according to KDKA.

Officer Shaw posted $10,000 bail on Wednesday, court records show. A preliminary hearing is scheduled April 8 before District Judge Ronald J. Haggerty Jr. in Fayette County.