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A Tasering in Mt. Lebanon
They don't want anyone to think one of the best suburban police forces in the country did anything wrong or unprofessional on the muggy July night Frank Caruso was pulled over for illegally parking on a sidewalk.
As their press release states, Mt. Lebanon police had to arrest Caruso "when he used profanity, and refused officers' orders to cease disorderly behavior on a traffic stop."
Then, "when officers' (sic) attempted to effect an arrest, Caruso made threatening gestures toward the arresting officer. He was subdued with a taser device until compliance was obtained."
A minor traffic stop gone a little bad. Nothing newsworthy or sensational there - unless you know who Frank Caruso is.
Or unless you learn more details about the incident that led to Caruso being zapped in the chest by a 50,000-volt Taser, handcuffed and put in a police van before being sent by ambulance to the hospital with chest pains.
Then the official police version of what went down on Alfred Street at 2059 hours Thursday, July 21, becomes -- take your pick -- outrageous or unbelievable.
Caruso is 66 and 5-foot-3. As Mt. Lebanon's 44 police officers and his many customers know, the Bethel Park resident with the Old World accent has operated Caruso Pizza in the heart of Mt. Lebanon's Washington Road business district for 29 years.
Released on his own recognizance and awaiting a Sept. 12 preliminary hearing, Mt. Lebo's Public Enemy No. 1 is charged with aggravated assault -- a felony -- plus resisting arrest, disorderly conduct and his original crime, parking on a sidewalk.
Caruso says he pulled onto the wide sidewalk near his pizza shop for less than a minute to pick up his wife Josephine. The space -- a remnant of a driveway cut into the curb that once served a car dealership -- is a contentious spot. The Carusos' son Tony and Officer Kunz had an argument over it in early July.
Though illegal, the Carusos and others say the space is used intermittently day and night by delivery vans and cars. The Aldo Coffee shop, across the street, has a photo on its Web site (aldocoffee.com) of a vehicle that recently parked there -- a Dormont police car.
Frank Caruso admits using the "F"-word and doing a lot of yelling and arm-waving. But he says he never touched Kunz, who he says was shouting at Caruso when he first approached his car: "'What's wrong with you people? You know you can't park there.'"
Law and order unraveled while Kunz was running a check on Caruso's driver's license. Josephine, 60, says she was having a panic attack, so she got out of the stifling car -- an '84 Volvo without air conditioning.
She quickly was ordered back inside by Kunz and backup Officer Dan Stover. While both officers were shouting at his wife, Frank says, he got out of the car. Shortly after, he says, Kunz Tasered him without warning. Josephine was fined $125 for disturbing the peace.
The police are sticking to their story. They say videotape of the incident taken by a dashboard camera, which they won't release, proves their officers acted appropriately and were justified in using the Taser.
Frank's trial could be nine months away. Until then, Mt. Lebanon citizens are left to ponder whether their fine police force, which apparently is running out of serious crimes to fight, treated the Carusos more like Bonnie and Clyde than old friends.
