About Chuck Biedka
Mark Thom Jr. was a part-time
police officer for East Deer, Sharpsburg and Tarentum, when that police
department patrolled Frazer, before he was hired as a part-time officer in
Springdale. He was named a full-time officer for Springdale Borough in June
2009 and eventually promoted to sergeant.
He resigned in February before
pleading guilty to a charge of violating a prisoner's civil rights.
The borough's insurance carrier
paid the victim in that case $225,000 to settle the man's civil rights lawsuit.
Last year, the borough paid
$98,500 to settle a lawsuit filed by an Allegheny County police officer who
claimed Thom and other Springdale officers violated his civil rights.
As a Springdale Borough police
officer, Mark E. Thom Jr. made dozens of arrests.
Next month, he'll begin serving
his own prison sentence.
On Thursday, the discredited
32-year-old ex-sergeant was ordered by U.S. District Judge Mark R. Hornak to
serve one year and one day in prison on charges of violating a suspect's civil
rights.
The sentence is the culmination
of almost two years of allegations and investigations involving Thom and his
conduct as a Springdale police officer. He was accused twice of civil rights
violations.
In the case for which he was
sentenced, Thom was accused of repeatedly punching and using a Taser on a
Tarentum man while the man was handcuffed and in the back of Thom's police car
in December 2011.
In 2012, FBI agents and U.S.
Justice Department civil rights specialists started to investigate that case as
well as other accusations against Thom and some of his fellow Springdale
officers. Thom could have been indicted by a grand jury in 2013, but officials
offered him what amounts to a plea bargain.
Thom agreed to plead guilty to
a single charge of violating civil rights.
Criminal information, the
federal equivalent of charges, was filed on Feb. 8, and Thom entered a guilty
plea one month later. He resigned from the force the day before he entered the
plea.Sentencing was deferred several times in 2013.
U.S. Attorney David Hickton
issued a written statement saying, “The vast majority of law enforcement
officials uphold the highest standard of public trust. But when someone abuses
his position, we will aggressively hold him accountable.
“We argued that a prison
sentence was especially just, not only for the crime he committed, but also
because he was discouraging other police officers from cooperating with us and
providing information.”
Before Hornak handed down the
sentence, Thom made a tearful apology to his own family, the man he was accused
of abusing and the Springdale community.
Thom said he “always wanted to
help” as an officer and “do what's right. ... I'm sorry for not having been a
better police officer and not doing my job better.”
Defense attorney Robert E.
Stewart told Hornak that Thom overcame a troubled family life, losing his
younger brother to drugs, yet managed to finish high school and become a police
officer.
Several letters from community
members were presented, all citing Thom's good character and detailing how he
helped them. In addition, letters from two police officers were presented,
accusing Thom of threatening them if they cooperated with the investigation
against Thom.
Hornak said, given the charges
and Thom's position as a police officer, a prison sentence was warranted.
Hornak told Thom, “You will
never wear a badge again.”
But the judge, instead of
scheduling a date for Thom to begin his sentence, allowed Thom to remain at his
home until notified by the U.S. Bureau of Prisons about where and when to
report for his sentence.
Thom must report to the U.S.
Marshals Office in Pittsburgh no later than noon Feb. 27 if the Bureau hasn't
called him before then, Hornak ordered.
