By Jeff Cole, Fox 29
A Delaware County family says police overstepped after they arrested several of their family members in front of their own home. Police say they were loitering; however, the family claims that’s not true. Now, township officials are looking into the arrests.
Lawyers for the Briggs family, of Chester Township, say police brutalized the Briggs while arresting family members for loitering in front of their own home.
The attorneys with family members by their side showed reporters cell phone video of the Oct. 2 incident along Shannon Street in the 264 unit county housing authority development in the township.
“Who do they think they are to victimize a family like this and do this to someone in this community? Who do they think they are?” attorney Thomas Fitzpatrick asked.
The video, lawyers say was edited to shield an elderly family member overcome with emotion, shows officers making multiple arrests and pulling a young man off of a porch onto the ground.
“The Chester Township Police Department failed my family instead of protecting us and serving us. They decided to attack us on multiple occasions,” Rachel Brigg said.
In the affidavit of probable cause, released by the lawyers, a police officer writes when he told the group they were loitering he was met with swear-words, resistance and a male kicking at the window of a police cruiser.
The township manager learned of the controversy when FOX 29 called for comment. She’s now looking into it. The manager of the housing authority says she’s doing her own investigation. FOX 29 has also learned the Delaware County District Attorney’s Special Investigation Unit will investigate the incident.
This article originally appeared on Fox 29 News.
