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Police chief charged in cover-up of Hispanic beating death has history of abuse
A police chief ordered held without bail on charges he tried to cover up the fatal beating of a Mexican immigrant by white teenagers was named in a 2006 lawsuit that claimed police beat to death a Hispanic teenager, then made it look like a suicide.
Police Chief Matthew Nestor was never charged, but the allegations contained in the suit, in Tuesday's indictment and in other civil claims depict a police department with pervasive hostility to minorities and a penchant for using excessive force.
Police "acted as feudal warlords in this coal town community that people were afraid of," said attorney John Karoly, who represents the parents of 18-year-old David Vega in their federal lawsuit against the borough. Karoly said he wasn't suggesting police were abusive to everyone, "but I would say the pattern certainly starts to appear that minorities took the thrust of their abuse."
The suit names Nestor and Capt. Jamie Gennarini as defendants, as well as the borough of Shenandoah. The officers have denied wrongdoing. A civil trial is scheduled for next summer.