The dispute between the Sciubba family and Officer Abel dates back at least several years, Mrs. Sciubba said. The officer once got into a fight with her son, Paul Kennedy, at a bar in Bridgeville. He then threatened to hurt him, she said.
Mrs. Sciubba said she contacted Officer Abel's father, Sgt. Paul Abel Sr. of the Scott Police Department, and asked him to intervene.
"He's like a bomb waiting to go off," she said of Officer Abel.
In January, Joseph Stubenrauch, 27, of Allentown, said Officer Abel beat him up at his home as paramedics tried to treat his father, who was having heart problems.
His father had resisted going to the hospital, forcing paramedics to call police. When they arrived, Officer Abel wanted to zap Mr. Stubenrauch's father with a Taser, Mr. Stubenrauch said.
Mr. Stubenrauch told Officer Abel not to use the Taser, and said the officer grabbed him.
"He's screaming and yelling. He started smashing my head against the wall," Mr. Stubenrauch said.
Officer Abel arrested him. On the way to the Allegheny County Jail, the officer stopped his patrol car, pulled Mr. Stubenrauch out and threw him against the car several times "to have some fun and teach me a lesson."
At the county jail, a nurse instructed Officer Abel to take Mr. Stubenrauch to the hospital because of his injuries. Warden Ramon Rustin yesterday confirmed that medical issues prevented the man from being incarcerated.
Mr. Stubenrauch later was charged with resisting arrest, obstructing emergency services, harassment and disorderly conduct. He faces a pretrial conference this month.
He said he gave a taped statement to the city's Office of Municipal Investigations, but the office later dismissed his complaint as "unfounded."