Ongoing coverage Mackey by Dave

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FAMILY PLEADS FOR JUSTICE Graphic video of inmate’s death posted online; prompts calls for accountability

SHAHEEN MACKEY

Medico Industries poised to merge with defense contractor

General Dynamics is pursuing acquisition of the business based in Plains Twp. BY ERIC MARK STAFF WRITER

MARK MORAN / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Tatiyanee Mackey, right, the daughter of Shaheen Mackey, pauses to compose herself as she speaks to the media Wednesday afternoon. At left is Chareina Blanding, Shaheen Mackey’s niece.

READ MORE Our opinion: Gov. Wolf, AG Shapiro owe justice to Shaheen Mackey. Page A9

MORE ONLINE Watch the video with this story on our website, www.citizensvoice.com.

BY JAMES HALPIN STAFF WRITER

Surveillance video leaked to social media this week shows the intense struggle that resulted in the death of Shaheen Mackey at the Luzerne County Correctional facility in June 2018 — a fatality that resulted in a $3 million settlement with the county. “Black Lives Matter!!!!!” a Facebook user who identified himself as Nieem Johnson wrote in posting the video. “Stand strong and firm. If you don’t see the brutality and (torture)

of a black man in this video, I don’t know what video you’re watching.” The user did not immediately return a message seeking comment, but attorney Theron Solomon of the Dyller Law Firm, which represented Mackey’s estate in the lawsuit against the county, confirmed the video’s authenticity. Mackey’s children, speaking to the media Wednesday afternoon outside the Wilkes-Barre law firm, said they consented to the release of the video in an effort to get justice for

their father. No charges were ever filed in the case, with Luzerne County District Attorney Stefanie Salavantis clearing all participants of wrongdoing. “The DA justifies what is in the video,” said daughter Tatiyanee Mackey, 20. “You see the video, but you don’t see the crime that’s being committed. How? I don’t know how, because it’s right there. It’s clear. ... Accountability, that’s what we want. Justice.” Please see VIDEO, Page A5

Pedri: Mackey video ‘heartbreaking to watch’

The county manager noted a ‘number of steps’ have been taken since Mackey’s death.

watch” a video that shows a violent encounter in June 2018 involving corrections officers at the county jail and inmate Shaheen Mackey, who died two days later. Pedri issued his statement hours BY ERIC MARK after the video was released publicSTAFF WRITER ly. In a statement issued Wednesday, County and jail officials “have Luzerne County Manager David taken a number of steps” since Pedri said “it was heartbreaking to Mackey’s death to improve training

and medical screening protocols at the jail, Pedri said. On June 23, county council approved a $3 million settlement of a civil rights suit brought against the county by Mackey’s family. Council watched the video during a June 5 executive session. On Wednesday, council members declined to comment on the video at the advice of county chief solicitor

Romilda Crocamo, who noted the litigation is ongoing despite council’s approval of the settlement. A federal judge has not yet approved the settlement agreement. However, council members Walter Griffith and Stephen J. Urban continued to criticize Pedri over the issue. Please see PEDRI, Page A5

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General Dynamics, one of the largest defense contractors in the nation, is pursuing the acquisition of Medico Industries, a Plains Twp.-based manufacturer of heavy equipment and also a national defense contractor. A filing with the Federal Trade Commission, dated July 13, indicates the FTC granted an early termination of a pre-merger waiting period required by federal anti-trust laws. The filing lists the acquiring party as General Dynamics Corporation and the acquired party as Medico Industries, Inc. Neither company has publicly announced a merger or acquisition. Lorenzo Medico, creative director at Medico Industries, declined to comment on Wednesday. A General Dynamics spokesperson referred an inquiry to the company’s home office in Virginia, and provided no information. Medico Industries has been awarded multiple government defense contracts in recent years, according to published reports. In 2013, the U.S. Army awarded Medico a $19.1 million contract to produce projectile gun unit metal parts. General Dynamics is “a global aerospace and defense company” based in Reston, Virginia, according to the company’s website. It is the sixth-largest defense contractor in the world and the fifth-largest in the United States basedon sales,accordingtoa2019 report from CNBC. GeneralDynamicswasranked 92nd on the Fortune 500 list of largest American companies last year. According to the FTC website, requests for early termination of waiting periods “will be granted only after compliance with the rules and if both the Federal Trade Commission and Department of Justice Antitrust Division have completed their review and determined they will not take any enforcement action during the waiting period.”

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Thursday, augusT 6, 2020

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CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC

School districts go round and round on buses Debate lingers on how to get kids to school safely amid the pandemic. BY MARK SCOLFORO assOCIaTEd PrEss

MarK MOraN / sTaFF PhOTOgraPhEr

Tatiyanee Mackey, left, the daughter of Shaheen Mackey, pauses as she speaks to the media Wednesday afternoon after a video was posted online of her father’s death at the Luzerne County Correctional Facility. Also with Tatiyanee Mackey is Shaheen Mackey’s son, Shaheen Mackey, center, and niece, Chareina Blanding.

VIDEO: DA Salavantis defends decision FrOM PagE a1

Salavantis defended her decision on Wednesday, saying the officers responded appropriately to Mackey’s conduct. “Neither the county’s decision to settle the civil action, nor the video’s release affect the investigation or decision with respect to criminal charges against the corrections officers in this case,” Salavantis said. “It should be noted that not only did our office expend a substantial amount of time and resources doing a full investigation into the incident; the matter was also reviewed by federal authorities.” The 23-minute long video begins with Shaheen Mackey — who was being held at the jail for an alleged violation of a protection-fromabuse order — already strapped into a restraint chair wearing a spit mask, surrounded by at least nine correctional officers and nurses. Officers repeatedly tell Mackey to calm down and comply, and early on urge him to “breathe.” “We’re trying to help you,” said a woman who appears to be a nurse. Throughout the first several minutes of the video, Mackey can be seen straining and heard screaming and crying as correctional officers ask him what drugs he took. “This mother (expletive). He’s strong,” one officer said. “I don’t know what he’s on. Probably meth. When they get pumped on meth they get power like this. Just make sure you

‘Really? Come on. That’s no natural cause. They let him sit in that chair and take his last breath, and they didn’t care. That’s sick.’ TATIYANEE MACKEY

On her father’s death being ruled ‘natural causes’

control that other (expletive) hand.” Shortly after the eightminute mark, the sound of Tasers firing can be heard. “It’s not even affecting him,” one officer said. “It’s doing nothing. He don’t even feel it. There’s no point in utilizing it.” A short time later, someone says, “Make sure he can breathe.” Eventually Mackey goes unresponsive and nurses administer Narcan, a drug that can revive drug overdose patients. According to the lawsuit, Mackey was not under the influence of any drugs. The nurses can then be seen checking Mackey for a pulse. “I need CPR,” one nurse said around the 12:50 mark. Nurses and correctional officers initiated CPR while Mackey is still strapped to the restraint chair until an officer tells them Mackey needs to be removed. Officers get him out of the chair around the 15:10 mark and continue performing CPR while Mackey lies on the floor until the video ends a little after the 23-minute mark. Mackey, 41, of Berwick,

died two days later. The Luzerne County Coroner’s Office listed his cause of death as “myocardial insufficiency due to severe coronary artery disease” and listed the manner of death as “natural causes.” “Really? Come on,” Tatiyanee Mackey said Wednesday. “That’s no natural cause. They let him sit in that chair and take his last breath, and they didn’t care. That’s sick.” T he lawsuit filed in December 2019 alleged correctional officers failed to recognize Mackey was having a seizure. “Instead of treating the situation as the medical emergency that it was, the correctional officers treated Mr. Mackey’s convulsions with more physical force,” said the complaint, which alleged they placed Mackey in a position that restricted his breathing before using Tasers on him “at least 20 more times.” But Salavantis said the incident began with Mackey, who was reported to have “homicidal outbursts,” tearing out his hair and trying to bite and rip out his own fingernails, causing alarm to another inmate. An officer who responded with two medical assistants could not calm him down and lost his radio in the process, prompting Mackey’s cellmate to run to the command center screaming for help, she said. “Unquestionably, the loss of Mr. Mackey is tragic for everyone involved,” Salavantis said. “Whether the episode was caused by the effects of a controlled substance — as initially, but

incorrectly, believed by the officers — or by seizure as was later believed, the officers had a responsibility to attempt to restrain Mr. Mackey before he hurt himself or anyone else or before he could be given medical attention in his agitated state. As a result, we stand by our investigation which revealed no evidence of criminal intent to harm Mr. Mackey or commit any other crime during this episode.” Despite the county’s position that no crime was committed, Luzerne County Council in June approved the $3 million settlement in the civil rights lawsuit with Mackey’s estate. The lawsuit against two healthcare providers — Correct Care Solutions, LLC, and Wellpath, LLC — is still pending. That portion of the suit alleges employees of the companies failed to properly document Mackey’s medical conditions and instead forged his intake paperwork. Mackey’s family vowed Wednesday to continue seeking justice in his name. “The fight continues,” Tatiyanee Mackey said. “The movement will keep going. This is not it.” Shaheen Mackey’s niece, Chareina Blanding, noted that his children are having to grow up without him, knowing his terrible fate. “I loved him. We all loved him,” Blanding said. “He’s not here any more. Well, we’re not going to stop. Because it’s not over. It’s definitely not over.” Contact the writer: jhalpin@citizensvoice.com 570-821-2058

PEDRI: Councilmen place blame on manager FrOM PagE a1

The night council unanimously approved the settlement, Griffith and Urban voted to terminate Pedri as manager, noting that as head of county administration he is ultimately responsible for the actions of county employees.

No other council member supported the motion to fire Pedri. “The county manager is totally responsible for what has gone on under his watch,” Urban said Wednesday. “He is the only one we can make accountable.” Urban said watching the video caused him to vote in

favor of the settlement and added to his concerns about Pedri’s leadership. Griffith said he found the video disturbing and noted “the buck stops with the manager.” In a text message, Pedri said Urban and Griffith’s remarks about his leadership echo

what they said at the June 23 council meeting. “Their statements were dismissed by county council as ridiculous,” Pedri wrote. “I see no need to comment further on their position.” Contact the writer: emark@citizensvoice.com 570-821-2117

HARRISBURG — School districts nationwide puzzling over how to safely educate children during a pandemic have a more immediate challenge — getting 26 million bus-riding students there in the first place. Few challenges are proving to be more daunting than figuring out how to maintain social distance on school buses. A wide array of strate gies have emerged to reduce the health risks but nobody has found a silver bullet. Should students with COVID-19 symptoms be isolated at the front of the school bus? Should bus seats be assigned? Should buses be loaded from the back? Should buses only carry a few students at a time? “The transportation professionals are left with the issue of, OK, you’ve got little Billy at the bus stop. Mom’s not there and he’s got a tem-

perature. That’s a dilemma,” said Steve Simmons, a bus safety expert who used to head pupil transportation for Columbus, Ohio, public schools. “We can’t answer those kinds of questions. I don’t think anybody can.” Simmons, president of the National Association for Pupil Transportation, was part of team of industry and school officials who produced a 70-page report on ways to lower the risk of COVID-19 transmission. Many schools have been surveying parents to determine how many students will take the bus and how many will be privately driven to school. Others are making decisions about bus capacity that involve a tradeoff between safety and affordability. The task force report warned that a 6-foot social distancing regulation “is not financially nor operationally feasible,” and that “current thinking” is that a 72-student capacity bus can accommodate 24 students, or more if family members sit together. Please see BUSES, Page A6

SERVICE: Employers who follow CDC guidelines should have ‘limited liability’ FrOM PagE a3

Cartwright said some states, especially in the South, provide “very little” unemployment benefits. “What the drafters were thinking when they came up with $600 … was keeping people alive in those places. Maybe a different number for different places might have worked.” He said two initiatives address most of the group’s concerns. The Restaurants Act of 2020, which he cosponsored, establishes a $120 billion revitalization fund that restaurants could access for things such as employee benefits, utilities and rent. He also said he is urging the Senate to pass the HEROES Act, which, he said, includes “some important PPP fixes,” extends the prog ram’s covered period through Dec. 31, gives loan forgiveness to employers “who can show an inability to rehire or find similarly qualified employees” before Dec. 31, and authorizes another $10 billion in grants to small businesses with financial losses caused by the pandemic. Cartwright said he and seven Democratic and Republican colleagues wrote a letter to House leadership last week urging them to include relief to the restaurant industry in the next coronavirus response bill.

are getting $600 a week, it’s difficult to ask them to come back to work when they’re getting unemployment — which is about two-thirds of their normal income — and the additional $600. … My own personal opinion? it’s a little too much. It’s almost a disincentive.” Patrick and Bill Nasser, owners of Backyard Ale House in Scranton, said the next round of pandemic funding should include incentives for employees to work rather than collect unemployment benefits. “The extra $600-a-week incentive for employees to stay home has been a challenge,” Bill Nasser said. “We haven’t even been able to fully open our restaurant … because we just can’t staff it.” Nasser also said the government should see to it that employers who follow CDC guidelines such as enforcing m a s k we a r i n g , t a k i n g employee temperatures and installing plexiglass shields have only “limited liability” if an employee contracts COVID-19 while at work and sues them. Jean-Luc Vitiello, owner of Pocono Brewery, called a requirement that bar and restaurant customers order a meal with their alcohol “a hindrance. … Our main sales is wine and beer. Having to, I Contact the writer: would say, force people to eat, smocarsky@citizensvoice.com it deters some people away.” 570-821-2110; @MocarskyCV

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Monday, August 10, 2020

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CALL FOR ACTION Family, friends and activists seek justice for Mackey

States already facing budget crunches due to pandemic.

BY ERIC MARK STAFF WRITER

WILKES-BARRE — Shaheen Mackey was more than a hashtag or a number on a jail uniform, his family members said at a Sunday rally in front of the Luzer ne County Courthouse. Mackey died in June 2018, two days after being restrained by corrections officers at Luzerne County Correctional Facility, after he suffered an apparent violent seizure while jailed for an alleged violation of a protection from abuse order. County District Attorney Stefanie Salavantis cleared the corrections officers of any criminal wrongdoing and the manner of Mackey’s death was ruled natural causes. H o w e v e r, i n J u n e Luzerne County council approved a $3 million settlement of a civil rights suit brought against the county by Mackey’s estate, and a video that showed the encounter between Mackey

75 Years

Saluting the end of WWII

The Citizens' Voice is profiling local veterans to commemorate the end of World War II, which was announced Aug. 14, 1945. Today we profile John Wrazien, 97, of Dupont, stormed the beaches of Normandy. This is the second in a six-part series. COMING TUESDAY: Frank Steinberg, 95, of Kingston, who suffered permanent wounds in the Battle of the Bulge.

BY MATTHEW BARAKAT ASSOCIATED PRESS

SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Lamont Williams, of Wilkes-Barre, leads a Black Lives Matter protest, across Pierce St. in Wilkes-Barre, in support of Shaheen Mackey, a Luzerne County Correctional inmate who died after he suffered an apparent violent seizure in June 2018. and the corrections officers sparked outrage after it was leaked to social media last week. It also inspired Sun-

day’s rally, which started at the county jail. More than 100 people marched, chanting loudly and holding protest signs aloft, to

the nearby courthouse. to harm anyone at the jail T a t i y a n e e M a c k e y during the incident that recalled her father as a led to his death. gentle man who loved his family and who did not try Please see RALLY, Page A5

FALLS CHURCH, Va. — Whether President Donald Trump has the constitutional authority to extend federal unemployment benefits by executive order remains u n c l e a r. Equally up in the air is whether states, which are necessary TRUMP partners in Trump’s plan to bypass Congress, will sign on. Trump announced an executive order Saturday that extends additional unemployment payments of $400 a week to help cushion the economic fallout of the pandemic. Congress had approved payments of $600 a week at the outset of the coronavirus outbreak, but those benefits expired Aug. 1 and Congress has been unable to agree on an extension. Please see PLAN, Page A4

Dupont native looks back on storming beaches of Normandy BY BOB KALINOWSKI STAFF WRITER

At age 97, John Wrazien vividly recalls storming the beaches of Nor mandy, France, on D-Day in June 1944 amid heavy German gunfire. He doesn’t care who believes him. “Who is going to say I’m lying about where I’ve been and what I’ve done?” Wrazien said recently. “If they were with me, they are either too old or dead.” Wrazien, a Dupont native who now lives at the Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Plains Twp., said he was with a squad of 12 infantrymen when his ship landed on Omaha Beach.

They immediately tried to take cover behind a “breakwater,” a barrier set up near the water’s edge. German gunfire burst from “pillboxes,” a series of concrete bunkers built atop the cliffs overlooking the beach, he said. “From our squad of 12, four of us survived. The other eight were killed. That’s how dangerous it was,” Wrazien said. “When we landed on the beach, our lead officer was killed. Our lead sergeant was killed. I was second in command so I actually took over the squad. When you’re in combat you don’t think it’s going to happen to you until it does happen.” Asked how he survived, he

said he had “no idea.” “Lots of luck I guess,” Wrazien said during a recent interview conducted online via video conference due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Wrazien and his unit fought through France, Germany and Czechoslovakia. He was in Czechoslovakia when the war ended in Europe in May 1945. “We had a big party in Czechoslovakia and drank Czech beer,” Wrazien recalled. Wrazien figures to celebrate again on Friday, which marks the 75th anniversary since the end of the war in Japan was announced in the United States. “What am I going to do?

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John Wrazien, 97, was with a squad of 12 infantrymen when his ship landed on Omaha Beach. Whatever they have planned for us. Maybe play bingo,” Wrazien said. In addition to Europe, Wrazien also served in Africa. During his years of service, Wrazien said he was shot in the shin, suffered eardrum damage after being hit with shrapnel and con-

tracted malaria. Wrazien said he’s proud of his service in helping win World War II. “I’m amazed that I remember,” Wrazien said. “There’s not too many of us left.” Contact the writer: bkalinowski@citizensvoice.com 570-821-2055; @cvbobkal

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Monday, august 10, 2020

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Police: One killed, another wounded in Hanover Twp. shooting An autopsy is set for this morning. BY ERIC MARK staFF WRItER

sEan MCKEag / staFF PHotogRaPHER

Jimmy Gee of Wilkes-Barre raises his fist in support of Shaheen Mackey during a rally in front of the Luzerne County Courthouse on Sunday.

RALLY: More than 100 people marched in W-B FRoM PagE a1

Rasheeda Hammonds, Mackey’s sister, thanked the crowd for helping to share Mackey’s story. She said she is not just fighting for justice for her brother. “It could happen to anybody,” Hammonds said. That was a theme repeated throughout the rally, which lasted close to two hours: Mackey’s death was a tragedy, but it showcased the larger problem of a criminal justice system that is systemically unfair to people of color and the disadvantaged.

‘We want to see substantial changes regarding police policy. We need accountability.’ SHAREE CLARK

nEPa Freedom Fighters

“We want to see substantial changes re garding police policy,” said Sharee Clark, of the citizens group NEPA Freedom Fighters. “We need accountability.” The problem is not limited to large cities or other

tions officers who restrained Mackey and blasted him with stun guns should face criminal charges, and the nurses involved in the incident should have their licenses suspended. Clark and Mendez urged everyone to register to vote, and to vote for candidates who support needed change and reform to the way law enforcement treats minorities. “We cannot be reactive, because lives are at stake,” Clark said. “We must be proactive.”

ONLINE EXTRA For video from the rally, go to citizensvoice. com.

areas of the country, Clark said. “It’s right here in our own backyard,” she said. Clark and other speakers said they were horrified when they watched the jail video that leaked last week. “I wanted to jump through the screen and help him,” said Annie Mendez, of Black Lives Matter-Hazle- Contact the writer: emark@citizensvoice.com ton. 570-821-2117 Mendez said the correc-

Marketplace at Steamtown projects on track for this year BY DAVID SINGLETON staFF WRItER

A pair of projects that will further transform the Marketplace at Steamtown are on pace for completion later this year for one and next year for at least the first phase of the other. The marketplace is in the midst of demolition work for the most ambitious of the two: Geisinger’s planned 83,000-square-foot musculoskeletal and sports medicine center that will dominate the western side of the former mall. On the eastern side, construction is moving forward on new office space for the Social Security Administration.The two developments were announced less than three weeks apart last fall in what was seen as a major coup for marketplace owner John Basalyga, who took over the struggling Mall at Steamtown in 2015.The projects, and the Geisinger center in particular, will bring a tremendous volume of foot traffic to the marketplace and Lackawanna Avenue, Basalyga said last week. “It’s a game changer, for sure, for the whole downtown,” he said. The $21 million Geisinger center will consolidate musculoskeletal services from multiple locations as the health system grows its orthopedic, sports medicine and related lines. The project is on track, Geisinger spokesman Matt Mattei said in an email, but

CHRIstoPHER doLan / staFF PHotogRaPHER

Project manager Desmond Ryder reviews building plans Friday in what will become the new Social Security Administration office site at the Marketplace at Steamtown in downtown Scranton. he had no additional update. At the marketplace, the musculoskeletal center will occupy the first level on the Lackawanna Avenue side from Delta Medix to the marketplace main entrance, Basalyga said. On the second level, it will sprawl from the State Office Building to Crunch Fitness. It is an enormous site, and the demolition is about 50% finished, Basalyga said. In the meantime, the design is just about done. He anticipates construction will take place in two phases, with the first phase lasting about eight months and the second phase 12 to

15 months. Some of the work will happen concurrently with an emphasis on w r ap p i n g u p t h e f i r s t phase and getting Geisinger into the building, he said. Geisinger has said it expects the center to be operational in 2021, and Basalyga said phase one will “absolutely and easily” hit that target. “With phase two, I’m going to give it everything I have to get it in that time. … That’s a tall order,” he said. The Social Security Administration, which is taking over several firstlevel storefronts, is moving

into the marketplace from the Oppenheim Building on the opposite side of Lackawanna Avenue. The General Services Administration agreed to a 15-year lease for the space. Although the COVID-19 pandemic caused some minor delays, the offices are now under construction with an anticipated completion date around Dec. 1, Basalyga said. “We are going to get them in in 2020, and that’s important,” he said. “That’s our goal and it’s looking good.” Contact the writer: dsingleton@timesshamrock. com, 570-348-9132

6 people shot near zoo in Philadelphia BY DIANE MASTRULL tHE PHILadELPHIa InQuIRER (tns)

Three women, two men and a 17-year-old boy were shot late Saturday night in a playground near the Philadelphia Zoo in what the police commissioner decried as a “senseless act of gun violence.” Police said of ficers responding to a 9:21 p.m. report of a shooting at 38th and Poplar Streets in West Philadelphia, the site of the Clayborn Lewis Com-

munity Center Playground, found three female victims in the park — a 59-year-old shot in the left foot, an 18-year-old shot in the right arm, and a 24-year-old shot in the right thigh. All three were taken to Penn Presbyterian Medical Center, where an 18-yearold male with a gunshot wound to the lower back also arrived, reporting he also had been shot at 38th and Poplar, police said. Shortly after, two additional male victims — one

17, the other 18 — arrived at Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, each shot in the left leg, police said. The 17-year-old became the city’s 100th child shot this year, according to an Inquirer review of police statistics. About a halfhour later, an 11-year-old became the 101st, suffering graze wounds to the back of his head and right shoulder, police said, in the 6000 block of A Street near Olney Playground. He was

in stable condition Sunday at St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children. “We are devastated by the senseless act of gun violence that occur red tonight at 38th and Poplar,” Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw said in a statement issued shortly before midnight. “These acts of lawlessness have no place in our communities; and I remain steadfast in that we will hold accountable those individuals who seek to cause harm in our city.”

ing from multiple gunshot wounds. That man was pronounced dead at the scene, police said. Police did not release the name of the man who died, pending notification of next of kin. An autopsy is scheduled for this morning, county Coroner Frank Hacken said. The name, age and medical condition of the wounded man also had not been released as of Sunday night. Anyone with information is asked to call state police at 570-697-2000. State police and Hanover Twp. police responded, as did Wilkes-Barre police.

One man died and another man was wounded in a shooting in Hanover Twp. o n S u n d ay a f t e r n o o n , according to state police. The shooting happened at about 1:20 p.m. in the 200 block of Boland Avenue, police said in a news release. Officers responding to a reported shooting on Boland Avenue found one Hispanic male with a nonlife-threatening gunshot wound nearby, police said. The man was taken to a local hospital for treatment. Officers found a second Contact the writer: Hispanic male inside a car emark@citizensvoice.com parked in the area, suffer- 570-821-2117

Joe Biden vows to block Alaska mine project if elected assoCIatEd PREss

J U N E AU, A l a s k a — Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden said on Sunday that if he’s elected, his administration would stop a proposed copper and gold mine in Alaska’s Bristol Bay region. “It is no place for a mine,” the for mer vice president said in a statement to news media. “The Obama-Biden Administration reached that conclusion when we ran a rigorous, science-based process in 2014, and it is still true today.” The Environmental Protection Agency under the Obama administration proposed restricting development in the Bristol Bay region but never finalized the restrictions. The agency retains the option to invoke that so-called veto process again if it decides to do so. The mine would be built near headwaters of the Bristol Bay salmon fishery about 200 miles southwest of Anchorage. Conservation and local tribal groups say they fear the mine will devastate the fishery. Biden said the salmon fishery is an economic powerhouse that should be protected for Alaska Natives and fisher men, according to The Anchorage Daily News. “Bristol Bay is the most important Sockeye Salmon fishery in the world, supporting 13,000 jobs and $1.5 billion in economic activity,” said Collin O’Mara, president and CEO of the National Wildlife Federation Action Fund. “Joe Biden understands we cannot afford to risk allowing this pristine ecosystem — which supports 190 species of birds, 40 species of mammals, and 29 species of fish, including all five species of North American pacific salmon — to become a toxic, heavy metal-laden soup.” A n e nv i ro n m e n t a l review released by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers last month — and assailed by critics as deficient — stated that under normal

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operations, the alter natives it looked at “would not be expected to have a measurable effect on fish numbers and result in long-term changes to the health of the commercial fisheries in Bristol Bay.” Mine developer Pebble Limited Partnership has praised the Army Corps’ review as thorough and accurate. Earlier this week, President Donald Trump said he wo u l d “ l i s t e n t o b o t h sides” after his eldest son and a campaign adviser urged him to intervene to block the Pebble Mine. The cor ps has yet to make a permitting decision. When it does, it could issue a permit, approve a permit with conditions or issue a denial. The project, should it advance, also would face a state permitting process.

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PIAA sends letter to Wolf, saying there’s ‘viable path’ for fall sports this year. B1

Thursday, August 13, 2020

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W-B NAACP seeks review of Mackey death Attorney general’s office says it needs a referral from DA to investigate. BY ERIC MARK STAFF WRITER

The Wilkes-Barre chapter of the NAACP has asked state Attorney General Josh Shapiro to investigate the death of Shaheen Mackey. Chapter President Ronald Felton sent a letter via email

to the attorney general’s office on Tuesday, asking Shapiro to investigate because the case “needs further oversight.” Mackey died June 8, 2018, two days after he was forcibly restrained by corrections MACKEY of ficers at Luzerne County Correctional Facility, as he suffered an apparent violent seizure.

The county district attorney’s office cleared the corrections officers of any criminal wrongdoing and the manner of Mackey’s death was ruled natural causes. The local NAACP “is requesting a complete and thorough investigation” into the cause of Mackey’s death, Felton wrote to Shapiro. The letter was inspired by a surveillance video of the jail encounter that was leaked to social media last

week, Felton said Wednesday. Felton described the video — which shows Mackey shackled and restrained, surrounded by numerous corrections officers and medical personnel — as “gruesome” and “horrific.” “I just can’t understand why no one was held accountable,” Felton said. “The attorney general’s office needs to look into that matter.” Please see MACKEY, Page A5

Female inmate dies at LCCF BY ERIC MARK STAFF WRITER

A female inmate died at Luzerne County Correctional Facility on Wednesday following a medical episode, according to county Manager David Pedri. Pedri identified the woman as Mary Balliet, 30. She died in the medical department at the correctional facility Wednesday after-

Both districts had planned to go with in-person classes. BY BOB KALINOWSKI STAFF WRITER

Trump in debut of Democratic ticket

CAROLYN KASTER / ASSOCIATED PRESS

Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden and his running mate, Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., arrive to speak at a news conference at Alexis Dupont High School in Wilmington, Del., on Wednesday.

TRUMP IN TOWN? President may be coming to WILMINGTON, Del. — Scranton. Page A5 Joe Biden and Kamala Harris pushed past their one- cal annals. The coronavirus time political rivalry prevented Biden and Harris Wednesday to deliver an from appearing before the aggressive attack on the large, adoring crowd that character and performance typically greets a presidenof President Donald Trump tial nominee and his or her in their historic first appear- running mate. Instead, they ance as running mates. spoke in a mostly empty The physical debut of the high school gym where Democratic ticket was with- reporters nearly outnumout parallel in recent politi- bered campaign aides and

the candidates’ family members. While the pandemic made a traditional campaign rollout impossible, it gave Biden and Harris a setting to emphasize their criticism of Trump as unable to contend with the most severe public health crisis in a century. Harris was particularly sharp in her condemnation of the administration. “The case against Donald Trump and Mike Pence is open and shut,” Harris said. “This virus has impacted

Former Navy WAVE Doris Merrill, 96, recalls celebrating war’s end BY BOB KALINOWSKI STAFF WRITER

Doris Merrill and her husband were on leave from their World War II military service when it was announced on Aug. 14, 1945 that Japan surrendered and the war was over. They were thrilled — for the country and for their marriage. Merrill’s husband, Paul, who fought in Guadalcanal and Bougainville, was slated to return to combat in Japan with the Marines. “We were so happy the war was over. That meant they weren’t going to send Please see MERRILL, Page A10

almost every country. But there’s a reason it has hit America worse than any other advanced nation. It’s because of Trump’s failure to take it seriously from the start.” She added: “This is what happens when we elect a guy who just isn’t up for the job.” Harris is the first Black woman on a major party’s presidential ticket, and she and Biden noted the historical significance. “This morning, all across the nation, little girls woke

Doris Merrill holds her wedding photo from 1945. Her husband, Paul, passed away in 1982.

Some sun

75 Years

COMING FRIDAY: Sal Aliamo, 92, of Yatesville, walked the streets of Hiroshima after the atomic bomb.

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Saluting the end of WWII

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up — especially little black and brown girls, who so often feel overlooked and undervalued in their communities. But today, today, just maybe, they’re seeing themselves for the first time in a new way,” Biden said. Harris, who is also of South Asian descent, noted the “heroic and ambitious women before me, whose sacrifice, determination and resilience make my presence here today even possible.”

The Wyoming Valley West and Crestwood school districts have reversing plans to reopen schools for in-person classes next month and will start the year with all online classes. “Our big thing is the uncertainty involved. We are worried not only COVID-19 about the 49 new caskids, but the es reported adults, the in Luzerne parents at County. A5 h o m e, t h e entire community,” Superintendent David Tosh said Wednesday after the district’s school board approved the plan. “If we are going to err, we are going to err on the side of safety.” Tosh introduced the proposal at Wednesday’s virtual school board meeting, saying the idea was approved by the reopening committee. Once school starts on Sept. 8, Valley West will implement a fully remote schedule until at leastFriday, Oct.9. Atthat point district leaders will reevaluate whether it’s safe to bring students back to school, he said. The decision was made following a rise of COVID-19 virus cases locally, prompting the state to place Luzerne County in the “moderate” risk category. In that category, schools must implement a hybrid plan or go fully remote.

ADVE RTISE M E NT

The Citizens' Voice is profiling local veterans to commemorate the end of World War II, which was announced Aug. 14, 1945. Today we profile Doris Merrill, who served in the Navy WAVES as an intelligence stenographer. This is the fifth in a sixpart series.

DAVE SCHERBENCO / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Please see INMATE, Page A5

Crestwood, WVW go virtual to start year

ON THE ATTACK Biden, Harris lash

BY ALEXANDRA JAFFE, BILL BARROW AND WILL WEISSERT ASSOCIATED PRESS

noon, Pedri wrote in an email to county council. Balliet was brought to the jail at about 2 a.m. Tuesday by Pittston police on bench warrants for parole violations, Pedri wrote. “Upon intake, Ms. Balliet was discovered to have been suffering from a medical episode and was assigned to

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49 new cases of COVID-19 in county sTaFF rEPOrT

Luzerne County has 49 new positive COVID-19 cases and no new deaths, according to information released Wednesday by the state’s department of health. The county has 3,526 positive cases and the death toll is 184. According the state’s zip code data, 34 of new cases were reported in the Hazleton area. There are now 1,226 cases in the 18201 zip code sEaN MCKEag / sTaFF PhOTOgraPhEr

Shaheen Mackey Jr., center, is consoled by supporters during a recent Black Lives Matter rally in support of his father, Shaheen Mackey, a Luzerne County Correctional Facility inmate who died in 2018.

MACKEY: Request must come from DA FrOM PagE a1

Felton’s letter includes excerpts from Facebook posts expressing outrage over the video. “Shaheen Mackey was incarcerated ... when his life expired while being restrained on a gur ney, while 10 to 11 stood by watching,” Felton wrote. “The Luzerne County District Attor ney’s Of fice claims nothing was unusual in his cause of death. We urge your office to review the video to see if you arrive at the same conclusion.” Luzerne County Manager David Pedri said Wednesday the county “would welcome a review by the attorney general’s office at this time.” It looks like that will not happen, based on a statement the office’s communications director Jacklin Rhoads issued.

assOCIaTEd PrEss FILE

A spokeswoman for Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro said the office supports efforts to bring in an outside review, but a referral is required. “We reached out to the Wi l k e s - B a r r e N A AC P immediately after receiving their email and share the view that the public deserves to know more about what happened to Shaheen Mackey,” Rhoads

ap p ro p r i at e q u e s t i o n s about Shaheen’s death. While in this case Pennsylvania law does not allow our office to conduct an investigation without a referral from a District Attorney, we support efforts to bring in an outside review.” A spokesman for the attorney general’s office made a similar statement in late June, after county District Attorney Stefanie Salavantis announced she stood by her decision to clear the corrections officers and did not plan to refer the case to the attorney general. T hose remarks came after county council approved a $3 million settlement of a civil rights suit brought against the county by Mackey’s estate.

wrote. “His life mattered. We are encouraged that Luzerne County is open to an outside review so that the public knows what measures are being taken to Contact the writer: prevent future tragedies as emark@citizensvoice.com well as answer fair and 570-821-2117

INMATE: Autopsy scheduled for Thursday FrOM PagE a1

the medical unit for care,” Pedri wrote. “While there, her condition worsened and she passed away despite intervention of the medical

team to resuscitate her. Ms. Balliet was not restrained in any way during her time in the medical de par tment.” The district attorney’s office and coroner’s office

were notified immediately and are investigating, Pedri wrote. Cor rectional f acility staff are cooperating with t h e i nve s t i g at i o n , a n d staff members who were

involved have been placed on administrative leave pending the results of the i nve s t i g at i o n , Pe d r i wrote. An autopsy is scheduled for Thursday, Pedri said.

SCHOOLS: New guidance changes plans FrOM PagE a1

Additionally, schools that opened around the country already have seen large spikes in cases, Tosh said. “Opening right now poses a risk to our staff and students — as well as their families — that we are not willing to take,” Tosh said. Under the hybrid plan that is being set aside, students whose last names begin with the letters A-K physically would go to school for in-person instruction on Mondays and Tuesdays. Students with last names beginning with letters L-Z would go to school Thursdays and Fridays. And Wednesdays were supposed to be cleaning days. Tosh thanked Dr. Tony Grieco, director of the Luzer ne Inter mediate Unit, for coordinating

reopening plans with local superintendents over the last few months. “He’s been instrumental i n g e t t i n g eve r y t h i n g together and talking it over,” Tosh said. With the announcement from the state Monday of new guidance for the upcoming school year, Crestwood was forced to halt its plans for students. Superintendent Bob Mehalick announced in a YouTube video released We d n e s d ay n i g h t t h a t Crestwood will not reopen with students in classrooms Sept. 2 — reversing a previous decision. “This guidance has altered our previous plans,” he said. “The Crestwood School District will begin the 2020-2021 school year virtually. Specifically, all of our students will be taught through vir tual learning platforms.”

Three weeks ago, Mehalick announced that students would be in the classrooms of Crestwood schools in September. At that time, he detailed a lengthy list of items Crestwood would address to adhere to the guidance from the state and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Those actions are not necessary, for now. “This virtual plan will be utilized until at least Oct. 1,” Mehalick said. By October, the district hopes to have a better idea of the paths available to its students, whether a return t o s ch o o l bu i l d i n g s, a hybrid model or distance learning. For now, classes will take place online for all Crestwood students. Mehalick said families whose students are enrolled in the Crestwood Cyber Academy will not

need to take any action as the district makes changes throughout the school year. T h e d i s t r i c t ’s cy b e r school offering had become very popular during the pandemic. Last year, 28 students were enrolled before buildings closed in March. Mehalick reported more than 300 students were registered for the cyber academy at the end of July. The number exceeded 500 earlier this week. Extracurricular activities were not mentioned in t h e f ive - m i n u t e v i d e o We d n e s d ay. T h e P I A A remains in a holding pattern after Gov. Tom Wolf offered only a “recommendation” for the upcoming school year. JOHN MEDEIROS, standardspeaker city editor, contributed to this report.

Contact the writer: bkalinowski@citizensvoice.com 570-821-2055, @cvbobkal

and 385 in the 18202 zip code. The 49 new cases is the most since 48 cases were reported Aug. 2 and 60 cases were reported on May 10. Statewide there are 849 additional cases, bringing the total to 121,130. The state reported 33 deaths. The death toll is 7,385. The department said the number of tests administered within the last seven days is 157,895 with 5,272 positive cases.

COVID-19 in NEPA community health district Cases Fatalities

susquehanna

Wayne

217 27

Wyoming

61 8

162 10

Lackawanna

Pike

1,946 212

526 21

Luzerne

3,526 184

Monroe

1,650 124

Carbon

schuylkill

928 51

377 28

Northampton

Lehigh

5,022 338

3,956 293

COVID-19 BY THE NUMBERS a quick glance at the global spread of the coronavirus as of aug. 12.

World cases

United States cases

20,470,887

5,192,698

(up from 20,196,850 on aug. 11)

(up from 5,139,920 on aug. 11)

World deaths

United States deaths

745,923

165,924

(up from 738,910 on aug. 11)

(up from 164,502 on aug. 11)

— NUMBERS REPORTED AS OF 9:35 P.M. WEDNESDAY FROM JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY

EDITOR’S NOTE: The Johns hopkins university website relies upon publicly available data from multiple sources that do not always agree. More frequent updates of the map often result in higher case numbers than may be available from other sources that are updated less frequently.

Trump may visit Scranton next week BY BORYS KRAWCZENIUK sTaFF WrITEr

President Donald Trump may visit Scranton on the same night city native and former Vice President Joe Biden accepts the Democratic presidential nomination. George Bieber, acting director of public safety at the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport, said the Secret Service informed him of a possible visit on Aug. 20. Bieber said he had no fur ther details but expects to know for sure by Friday. Biden is set to accept the nomination on Aug. 20, the last day of the Democratic National Convention. Trump planned a July 24

visit to Scranton, but that fell through. He last visited Scranton on March 5, when he appeared at a Fox News town hall broadcast from the Scranton Cultural Center at Masonic Temple. In a Wednesday afternoon tweet on Twitter, NBC News political reporter Monica Alba said Trump expects to visit four battleground states — Minnesota, Wisconsin, Arizona and Pennsylvania — as the convention unfolds next week. The trips will mix campaign and official White House events, including the trip to Scranton, the tweet said. Please see TRUMP, Page A10

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Wolf stands by his ‘strong recommendation’ that all school, youth sports wait until next year. Page B1

QUARANTINES FOLLOW SCHOOL REOPENINGS. A8

Friday, August 14, 2020

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Major criminal trials headed to arena 2 high-profile cases will be tried at W-B Twp. facility amid ongoing pandemic. BY JAMES HALPIN STAFF WRITER

COMING SOON

THE CITIZENS’ VOICE FILE

Shaheen Mackey died at a hospital in 2018, two days after an incident at the Luzerne County Correctional Facility in Wilkes-Barre.

Attorney: First portion of Mackey jail video will be released soon BY ERIC MARK STAFF WRITER

The first portion of a surveillance video showing an altercation between Shaheen Mackey and corrections officers at Luzerne County Correctional Facility two years ago will be released soon, Mackey family attorney Theron Solomon said Thursday. A portion of the video released last week — which showed Mackey shackled and restrained, surrounded by multiple corrections officers — sparked outrage after the fiance of Mackey’s sister posted it to Facebook. The Mackey family released the video to the public to show the abuse they say Mackey suffered at the hands of the corrections officers, Solomon said. Mackey died at a hospital on June 8, 2018, two days after the inci-

MORE INSIDE OUR OPINION: DA Salavantis, stop blocking probe in the Mackey case. A9 OP-ED: Mackey family insisted settlement would not bar release of the video. A9 dent at the jail. His seemingly bizarre behavior that day was the result of a violent seizure and not drug intoxication, as the corrections officers mistakenly believed, according to a civil rights suit Mackey’s estate brought against Luzerne County. The 23-minute video released last week begins with Mackey already restrained. The earlier portion of Please see VIDEO, Page A5

SUBMITTED PHOTO

Mackey’s family recently settled a lawsuit with Luzerne County for $3 million.

Pedri seeks options for independent review

Salavantis: We’ll cooperate if other law enforcement agency investigates. BY ERIC MARK STAFF WRITER

PEDRI

Luzerne County Manager David Pedri said Thursday he might hire an outside consultant to conduct a review of the circumstances surround-

SALAVANTIS

ing the death of Shaheen Mackey. In a separate development, county District Attorney Stefanie Salavantis stood by her

decision to clear corrections officers at Luzerne County Correctional Facility of criminal wrongdoing related to Mackey’s death, but said she will cooperate with any law enforcement agency that launches an investigation into the matter. Mackey died June 8, 2018, two days after he was forcibly restrained by corrections officers at the county jail

during an apparent violent seizure. A surveillance video of the encounter between the officers and Mackey sparked public outrage after Mackey’s family released it last week.

been finalized as of Thursday, according to Pedri. He said he would release more information Friday. He emphasized that the review would focus on county policies and procePedri: More info today dures, and that he does not have the authority to order The county’s plans to a law enforcement investihire a consultant to conduct gation. an independent review of the Mackey case had not Please see REVIEW, Page A5

‘Nothing but black dust and black ash’ Yatesville vet recalls witnessing atomic bomb destruction that ended WWII.

Two high-profile criminal trials will be taking place under the lights at the Mohegan Sun Arena later this year as county officials work to proceed with court matters in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. For mer Wilkes-Bar re police officer Robert Collins, 55, of Wright Twp., will stand trial at the arena before Luzerne County Judge David W. Lupas starting Oct. 19. Collins is accused of using his badge to pressure eight women into performing sex acts. In November, Reynaldo Mercado, 33, of Wilkes-Barre, and 15-year-old Louisa Reyes, will stand trial at the arena before President Judge Michael T. Vough on charges alleging they murdered Fred Boote, 58, who was brutally beaten and stabbed multiple times in his Wilkes-Barre home. The moves are part of an effort to socially distance criminal proceedings involving numerous witnesses and intense media interest, Vough said Thursday. “The big criminal cases, we’re going to do them at the arena,” he said. “We’re going to social distance the entire trial.” Trials have been on hold for months because of the pandemic. Authorities previously expressed an interest in conducting trials off site because of the tight space in the courtroom jury boxes at the Luzerne County Courthouse. Vough said that at the end of the month, attorneys will begin picking jurors for September’s civil trials at the Please see TRIALS, Page A5

ADVE RTISE M E NT

URGENT CARE 7 DAYS A WEEK

BY BOB KALINOWSKI STAFF WRITER

As a teenage Marine, Sal Alaimo walked the devastated streets of Hiroshima, Japan, after the United States dropped the atomic bomb that led to the war’s end. “There was nothing but black dust and black ash as far as you could see. It was unbelievable — as far as you could see. It was one big rubble,” Alaimo, 92, recalled recently in the backyard of his Yatesville home. “Basically, there wasn’t much left at all. You stood on one side of that city and looked for miles and miles.” The news of Japan’s surrender and the war’s end was

75 Years SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

World War II veteran Sal Alaimo sits outside his Pittston residence last month. announced in the United That’s when I was 17,” AlaiStates 75 years ago today. mo said. “You could never “Man, that brings back memories. I’m in my 90s. Please see ALAIMO, Page A10

Saluting the end of WWII

The Citizens' Voice is profiling local veterans to commemorate the end of World War II, which was announced Aug. 14, 1945. Today we profile Sal Alaimo, 92, of Yatesville, who walked the streets of Hiroshima after the atomic bomb. This is the last in a six-part series.

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Trump: I’m blocking postal cash to stop mail-in votes President admits he’s starving USPS to make it harder to process ballots.

campaign hopes to force changes to how the state collects and counts mail-in ballots. And in Nevada, Trump is challenging a law sending ballots to all active voters. His efforts could face limits. The U.S. Supreme Court o n T h u r s d ay re bu f f e d Re publicans who challenged an agreement in Rhode Island allowing resid e n t s t o vo t e by m a i l through November’s general election without getting signatures from two witnesses or a notary. For Democrats, Trump’s new remarks were a clear admission that the president is attempting to restrict voting rights. Biden said it was “Pure Trump. He doesn’t want an election.” Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold said it was “ voter suppression to undermine the safest method to vote during a pandemic, and force Americans to risk their lives to vote.” Negotiations over a big new virus relief package have all but ended, with the White House and congressional leaders far apart on the size, scope and approach for shoring up households, reopening schools and launching a national strategy to contain the coronavirus. While there is some common ground over $100 billion for schools and new funds for virus testing, Democrats also want other e m e r g e n cy f u n d s t h at Trump rejects.

BY DEB RIECHMANN AND ANTHONY IZAGUIRRE assOCiatEd PrEss

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump frankly acknowledged Thursday that he’s starving the U.S. Postal Service of money in order to make it harder to process an expected surge of mail-in ballots, which he worries could cost him the election. In an interview on Fox Business Network, Trump explicitly noted two funding provisions that Democrats are seeking in a relief package that has stalled on Capitol Hill. Without the additional money, he said, the Postal Service won’t have the resources to handle a flood of ballots from voters who are seeking to avoid polling places during the coronavirus pandemic. “If we don’t make a deal, that means they don’t get the money,” Trump told host Maria Bar tiromo. “That means they can’t have universal mail-in voting; they just can’t have it.” T r u m p ’s s t at e m e n t s, including the false claim that Democrats are seeking universal mail-in voting, come as he is searching for a strategy to gain an advant a g e i n h i s N ove m b e r matchup against Joe Biden. He’s pairing the tough Postal Service stance in con-

Katy KiLdEE / assOCiatEd PrEss

Eric Severson holds a sign as a few dozen people gather in front of the post office in Midland, Mich., on Tuesday.

Mail-in ballots sent to Trump, first lady President Donald Trump has requested a mail-in ballot for Florida’s Tuesday primary election, despite weeks of criticizing the practice. Ballots were mailed on Wednesday to both the president and First Lady Melania Trump at the Mar-a-Lago resort, which Trump lists as his legal address, according to online Palm Beach County elections records. Both previously voted by mail for the presidential preference primary in March, according to records. Following multiple claims that mail-in voting was unsafe and vulnerable to fraud, Trump changed his mind about the practice last week, at least in Florida. Meanwhile, Trump’s campaign and the GOP are suing Nevada over its new vote-by-mail law. Nevada officials joined several states that plan on automatically sending voters mail ballots. Two states, California and Vermont, moved earlier this summer to adopt automatic mail ballot policies. — ASSOCIATED PRESS

gressional negotiations with an increasingly robust mail-in-voting legal fight in states that could decide the election. In Iowa, which Trump won handily in 2016 but is more competitive this year, his campaign joined a law-

suit Wednesday against two Democratic-leaning counties in an effort to invalidate tens of thousands of voters’ absentee ballot applications. That followed le g al maneuvers in battleground Pennsylvania, where the

VIDEO: Attorney won’t specify release date FrOM PagE a1

the video shows the events that led up to that, Solomon said. The earlier footage was not released last week because it is in a format that makes it difficult to share, according to Solomon. “It took me a little while to figure out how to watch it,” he said. “It’s not like any

other program you would g e t . T h e y wo u l d h ave released it all if it would not have been as difficult.” Solomon works for the Dyller Law Firm, which filed the suit against the county on behalf of the Mackey family last year. County council approved a $3 million settlement in June. Solomon said both the

firm and the Mackey family had always planned to share the full surveillance footage of the incident at an appropriate time. He said the law fir m, headed by attorney Barry Dyller, had “a different plan” for releasing the video than the one the family chose, but said he fully supports the family’s decision. Family members were

mined no criminal charges were war ranted in the Mackey case, following an investigation. In a statement issued Thursday afternoon, Salavantis stood by that decision for the third time in less than two months, since county council approved a $3 million settlement of a suit Mackey’s estate brought against the county. Salavantis said her office “has always cooperated

with state and federal law enforcement agencies on all criminal investigations.” She said her office will cooperate with any state or federal agency that requests to review the facts and conclusions of its i nve s t i g at i o n i n t o t h e Mackey case. In her statement, Salavantis said that in 2018 she asked federal authorities to review the Mackey case for possible federal violations

adamant that they would not agree to a non-disclosure provision of any settlement with the county, he said. Solomon declined to provide a day or date when he thinks the earlier portion of the surveillance video will be released, but said that will likely happen soon. Contact the writer: emark@citizensvoice.com 570-821-2117

Pedri said Wednesday the county would welcome an outside review of the circumstances surrounding Mackey’s death, though the state attorney general’s office said it could not investigate unless the county district attorney’s office requested it.

Salavantis has contacted feds In 2018, Salavantis deter-

over which she had no jurisdiction. Since the release of the jail video, she again asked federal authorities to review the case, she said. When asked which federal agency she contacted, Salavantis replied via text message, “I’m only permitted to say ‘federal authorities.’” Contact the writer: emark@citizensvoice.com 570-821-2117

TRIALS: County responsible for cleaning costs FrOM PagE a1

Most run-of-the-mill criminal proceedings will continue to take place at the courthouse, but cases requiring large seating capacities will be held at the arena, he said. He noted that a case like Collins’ involving eight alleged victims would pose a challenge at the courthouse

during a time when the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is urging people to stay six feet apart. “We can’t put those people in the courthouse,” he said. Arena officials agreed to allow use of the space rentfree, although the county will pay cleaning costs. “We’re going to clean after trial every day,” Vough said.

“It was available and they were very hospitable to us.” During the trials, a single courtroom will be set up on the arena floor, which is capable of sitting 245 socially distanced people, Vough said. Deputies will take the temperatures of attendees, and the county will provide masks, including special

masks for jurors and witnesses, he said. “We’ re g etting clear masks so you can see the jurors’ faces during voir dire,” Vough said. “We’re going to do everything in our power to make sure everybody’s safe.” Contact the writer: jhalpin@citizensvoice.com 570-821-2058

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a quick glance at the global spread of the coronavirus as of aug. 13.

World cases

United States cases

20,764,220

5,248,172

(up from 20,470,887 on aug. 12)

(up from 5,192,698 on aug. 12)

World deaths

United States deaths

EDITOR’S NOTE: the Johns Hopkins university website relies upon publicly available data from multiple sources that do not always agree. More frequent updates of the map often result in higher case numbers than may be available from other sources that are updated less frequently.

27 new COVID-19 cases, 1 death reported in county staFF rEPOrt

Luzerne County has 27 new positive COVID-19 cases and one new death, according to information released Thursday by the state Department of Health. The county has 3,553 positive cases and the death toll is 185. Statewide there are 991 additional cases, bringing

The cat was then transported to a local animal hosFirefighters rescue pital, where firefighters said unconscious cat it is “alive and well.” Crews put the fire out Firefighters battling a after about two hours of mobile home fire in Exeter early Thursday said they res- work. A state police fire marshal cued an unconscious cat was investigating the cause from the burning building. Exeter Hose Company No. of the fire. — JAMES HALPIN 1 reports crews were dispatched to the 200 block of WILKES-BARRE Birchwood Estates shortly Cause of inmate’s after 2 a.m. to a report of a fire with possible entrapment. death pending While crews from Exeter, The cause and manner of Pittston Twp., and West the death of a female inmate Pittston began extinguishing who died at Luzerne County the fire, three firefighters — Correctional Facility on identified as N. Redmond, M. Wednesday are pending toxiMichaels and Laflin Assiscology results, according to tant Chief Drew Malvizzi — county Coroner Frank Hackentered the building to conen. duct a search. An autopsy was perFirefighters said nobody formed Thursday on the was entrapped inside the remains of Mary Balliet, 30, mobile home, but they did according to Hacken. Balliet find an unconscious cat. died in the medical departRedmond brought the cat ment of the correctional outside and handed it to a facility following a medical crew from Commonwealth episode, county Manager EMS, which treated it using David Pedri said Wednesday. a pet rescue mask. — ERIC MARK

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the total to 122,121. The state reported 24 deaths. The death toll is 7,409. Allegheny County reported 114 new cases, while Philadelphia County has 192 new cases. The department said the number of tests administered within the last seven days is 162,548 with 5,416 positive cases.

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County council rejects further Mackey review Several members say council has no authority to give direction to DA. BY ERIC MARK STAFF WRITER

Luzerne County council has rejected three proposals THE CITIZENS’ VOICE FILE regarding further investigaLuzerne County council rejected three proposals tion into the death of former regarding further investigation into the death of former county jail inmate Shaheen county jail inmate Shaheen Mackey two years ago. Mackey two years ago.

YOUR TABLE’S READY

Council voted down two of the proposals on Tuesday, while a third proposal failed since no council member made a motion to adopt it. Mackey died on June 8, 2018, two days after a violent encounter with corrections officers at Luzerne County Correctional Facility, in which he was forcibly restrained. His family, in a civil rights suit filed against the county, claimed that Mackey suffered

a seizure which caused jail personnel to mistakenly believe he was on drugs. The first proposal council rejected was a resolution asking District Attorney Stefanie Salavantis to request the state attorney general’s office investigate Mackey’s death and the circumstances surrounding it. Council also rejected the proposed formation of an investigation committee, consisting of three council mem-

bers, three citizens and the county controller, to review procedures and protocols at the jail. Finally, no council member moved to adopt a proposed resolution to hire national law firm Troutman Pepper to conduct an independent review of policies and procedures at the jail, in light of what happened to Mackey. Please see COUNCIL, Page A5

CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC

Restaurants get green light to increase seating capacity but alcohol restrictions disappoint many owners BY STEVE MOCARSKY STAFF WRITER

Restaurants and bars can increase indoor occupancy to 50% beginning Sept. 21, but they won’t be able to serve alcohol after 10 p.m., Gov. Tom Wolf announced Tuesday. And, to ensure businesses operate safely during the coronavirus pandemic, the state is creating an online self-certification process for the industry, the governor also announced. “While our aggressive and appropriate mitigation efforts have kept case counts low, we must continue to take important steps to protect public health and safety as we head into the fall. At the same time, we must also support the retail food services industry that has struggled throughout this pandemic,” Wolf said in a news release. Wolf said the self-certifi-

cation “ensures that restaurants can expand indoor operations and commit to all appropriate orders so that employees and customers alike can be confident they are properly protected.” Consumers will be able to look up certified businesses in their area in the Open & Certified Pennsylvania online database so they can make more informed choices about which establishments to patronize. Some local bar and restaurant operators appreciate the expanded occupancy, while others say it won’t help them and that the new alcohol restrictions will hurt them even more financially. Tony DeCosmo, director of marketing for Grotto Pizza in Edwardsville, WilkesBarre Twp. and Harveys Lake, said expanding seating capacity to 50% is “a

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High 89º Low 66º

Hot & humid

DAVE SCHERBENCO / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Amanda Fuller and Thomas Mitchell, both of Wilkes-Barre, enjoy some pizza at Huns’ Cafe 99 in Wilkes-Barre on Tuesday. Greg Hunsinger, the restaurant’s owner, said new rules on serving alcohol will hurt his business.

‘But I don’t understand how the 10 p.m. time frame is going to help with COVID19 measures. All that will do is put a time limit on service.’ TONY DeCOSMO

Grotto Pizza’s local director of marketing

step in the right direction,” as restaurants will be able to allow more customers into the buildings. “But I don’t understand how the 10 p.m. time frame is going to help with COVID-19 measures. All that will

do is put a time limit on service,” DeCosmo said. “I find it a bit confusing as to the rationale behind it.” “Honestly, this new thing isn’t going to help us,” said Bill Smith, owner of Flaherty’s Eating and Drinking

Establishment in Kingston, noting he doesn’t have enough space to increase to 50% occupancy because of social distancing restrictions. And he doesn’t understand why customers must order food rather than just have a few drinks. “If you sit at a bar and have a beer, you’ll get COVID. If you sit at a bar and eat, you won’t get COVID. I don’t know where (Wolf ’s) logic is. It’s beyond anything I can understand,” Smith said. Greg Hunsinger, owner of

Huns’ Cafe 99 in WilkesBarre, said the new rules will hurt his business more than help it. “I do a lot of business after 10 o’clock. A lot of people who work restaurant shifts and work at the casino like to come out for a bite to eat and have a few drinks to unwind. It’s a major part of my business, we’re known for that. Now I’m not going to be able to accommodate them,” Hunsinger said. Please see RULES, Page A5

Lake-Lehman students start school in person At Lake-Lehman, 71% of the district’s 1,800 students return to the classroom. BY DENISE ALLABAUGH STAFF WRITER

LEHMAN TWP. — While she wasn’t happy about wearing a mask, LakeLehman Junior/Senior High School freshman Abigail Matysik said she was excited to return to school in person on Tuesday. Sophomore Madison Raspen said she felt the same way.

“I think it’s a lot better that we get to go to school in person. It’s a better experience and it’s more fun,” Raspen said after removing her mask to eat lunch. “It’s easier to learn in person and harder online.” Matysik and Raspen were among 71% of approximately 1,800 students of LakeLehman School District who

returned to school in person Tuesday. This week will start with half days for students. Teachers are participating in professional development sessions in the afternoons, said Lake-Lehman superintendent Jim McGovern. When parents were asked in surveys which education option they preferred amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Please see LEHMAN, Page A5

MARK MORAN / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Lake-Lehman students gather for lunch Tuesday at the high school in Lehman Twp.

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LEHMAN: Majority are back in classroom

COVID-19 in NEPA community health district

FrOm paGe a1

McGovern said the majority want ed stude nts to attend school the traditional way five days a week so it was important to provide this option. He said he listened to families’ opinions about what’s best for them. “When more than 70% of parents said students wanted to come back face to face, what would have been the point of doing the survey if you’re not going to follow through with the parents’ desires?” McGovern asked. “Too many people think they know what’s best for you. My job is to serve you. Leadership is about what you do for people not to people.” Students, faculty and staff at Lake-Lehman are following a number of COVID-19 safety precautions. In addition to wearing masks and social distancing, staff took everyone’s temperatures and checked students for COVID-19 symptoms as they entered school. There’s an isolation ro o m at L a ke - L e h m a n Junior/Senior High School for students who get sick. Students can remove their masks to eat lunch and take mask breaks when socially distanced, McGovern said. Tables were added to the gym to allow for more space for lunch.

Cases Fatalities

Hunsinger said the occupancy allowance will help “upscale restaurants” that normally close by 10. But because his and other bars and restaurants do 40% to 50% of their business between 10 p.m. and 2 p.m., “it will hurt bars and restaurants like ours.” State Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine said at a press conference that the 10 p.m. alcohol cutoff “was a result of people going to restaurants and bars and night clubs” and based on “evidence from our own qualitative and quantitative data. We also had evidence from other states, and we also were following specific recommendations from the White House (Coronavirus) Task Force.”

Council members gave a multitude of reasons for rejecting the first two proposals. Several of them said council does not have the authority to give direction to the district attorney. Councilman Harry Haas said council would be “going outside of our powers to do this” for what he called political reasons based on “pressure to look like we are doing something.” He said Salavantis did a creditable job when she conducted an investigation that resulted in the corrections officers being cleared of criminal wrongdoing, in November 2018. Salavantis has repeatedly said her office had sufficient

195 10

Lackawanna

70 8

pike

2,210 214

547 21

Luzerne

3,898 189

1,019 51

Lake-Lehman students wear masks during lunch Tuesday at the high school in Lehman Twp.

marK mOran / staFF pHOtOGrapHer

Lake-Lehman ninth-grade student Abigail Matysik chats with a reporter Tuesday morning. Lake-Lehman also spent about $500,000 purchasing something unique called “needlepoint bipolar ionization units” to clean the air, he said. About 14.5% of LakeLehman students enrolled

ents who are afraid to send their children to school. Every student in the school district has a Chromebook and McGovern said they’ve been using them for about five years, Students have been participating in sports since June and McGovern said it was like “the Fourth of July and Christmas morning” for them when they could see each other after they couldn’t for months. “They follow the rules like you wouldn’t believe,” he said. “They sanitize and they social distance. You have unbelievable leadership among the kids.”

in a live stream program and another 14.5% are enrolled in the cyber program that they can do at times that work best for families, McGovern said. He Contact the writer: said the cyber program is a dallabaugh@citizensvoice.com good option for working par- 570-821-2115, @CVallabaugh

Asked why bar patrons must order food in Pennsylvania but not in many other states, Levine said it’s “because we don’t want people to congregate while they’re drinking … and not following social distancing.” She said requiring people to remain at tables 6 feet apart and order food helps to avoid that. Responding to a question the Restaurant and Lodging Association posed in a news release asking what is “magical” about 10 o’clock for an alcohol cutoff, Levine said said it’s based on “what we’re seeing with … older college students,” a significant increase in COVID-19 cases among 19-to-24-year-olds and outbreaks at many Pennsylvania colleges where that age group congregate at bars.

resources to investigate and did not have a conflict, so there are no grounds to refer the case to the attorney general’s office. Council members Walter Griffith, Linda McClosky Houck, Stephen J. Urban and Sheila Saidman voted in favor of asking Salavantis to refer the case to the attorney general’s office. Haas voted no, as did council members Tim McGinley, Chris Perry, Matthew Vough, Robert Schnee, Kendra Radle and LeeAnn McDermott. Council members and solicitor Vito DeLuca debated whether council had the authority to create the proposed jail investigation committee, as suggested by Griffith. The committee would

monroe

1,742 129

Carbon

432 28

schuylkill

marK mOran / staFF pHOtOGrapHer

northampton

Lehigh

5,307 345

4,176 302

COVID-19 BY THE NUMBERS a quick glance at the global spread of the coronavirus as of sept. 8.

World cases

United States cases

27,433,017

6,324,042

(Up from 27,246,686 on sept. 7)

(Up from 6,299,637 on sept. 7)

World deaths

United States deaths

894,430

189,538

(Up from 890,923 on sept. 7)

(Up from 189,168 on sept. 7)

— NUMBERS REPORTED AS OF 6:28 P.M. TUESDAY FROM JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY

EDITOR’S NOTE: the Johns Hopkins University website relies upon publicly available data from multiple sources that do not always agree. more frequent updates of the map often result in higher case numbers than may be available from other sources that are updated less frequently.

4 new COVID-19 cases in county staFF repOrt

Luzerne County has four new positive COVID-19 cases and no new deaths, according to information released Tuesday by the state’s department of health. The county has 3,898 positive cases and the death toll is 189. In Luzerne County, there are currently 15 patients hospitalized with COVID-19 and none require ventilator use.

Statewide there are 496 additional cases, bringing the total to 140,359. The state reported 11 new deaths. The death toll is 7,791. There are 514 patients currently hospitalized in the state and 63 require use of a ventilator. The department said the number of tests administered within the last seven days is 147,207 with 5,838 positive cases.

sean mCKeaG / staFF pHOtOGrapHer

COURT NOTES Bill Smith, owner of Flaherty’s Eating and Drinking Establishment, stands outside his business Tuesday in PROPERTY TRANSACTIONS south Loveland avenue, Kingston. Smith said he found the Wolf administra■ amanda r. stoffel et al. to Kingston. ■ Joseph p. Wheeler et al. to tion’s rationale for alcohol restrictions to be confusing. brandon Jenkins, $222,800;

COUNCIL: County will not hire outside firm FrOm paGe a1

Wayne

281 28

Wyoming

RULES: Changes help ‘upscale restaurants’ FrOm paGe a1

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e f f e c t ive l y h ave m o r e authority than council itself if it held investigatory powers, said DeLuca and Radle. DeLuca said it would violate the county charter for council to create the proposed committee. Haas and Houck noted the precedent of a 911 review committee council formed in 2015. Houck said the proposed committee “certainly would shine a light on” what happened during the Mackey incident, as well as changes made to jail procedures since then. Houck, Griffith and Urban voted in favor of creating the committee, while the other eight council members voted no. McGinley, the council

chairman, asked three times if any council member wanted to move that council adopt the resolution to hire Troutman Pepper, which has an office in Philadelphia. No one responded. County Manager David Pedri proposed hiring the firm last month, but most council members did not support the idea at council’s Aug. 25 meeting. On June 23, council approved a $3 million settlement of the suit brought by Mackey’s estate. In early August, Mackey’s family released a surveillance video of the jail incident, which inspired calls for further investigation into his death. Contact the writer: emark@citizensvoice.com 570-821-2117

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Joseph J. Kemmerer et al., $225,000; slocum twp. ■ michelle Kelleher et al. to david pascoe, $219,900; Fairview twp. ■ Glenn bisbing et al. to morgan e. molesevich, $240,000; plains twp. ■ stauffer pointe development Group LLC to edin Hodzic et al., $248,500; pittston. ■ Joshua miller et al. to stephanie C. roman, $139,900; dupont. ■ sunny Hill development LLC to matthew emo et al., $225,000; Hanover twp. ■ pentagon Federal Credit Union to andy J. mercado et al. $175,000; rice twp. ■ Kristin Gelsleichter et al. to Kyle paul et al., $121,500; Luzerne. ■ northeastern pennsylvania Investors Group Inc. to sebastien Caron et al., $159.000; Lehman twp. ■ michelle Kendra parthemore et al. to Ivanna rossett nunez Frias, $145,000; West Hazleton. ■ mikhail Chinikaylo et al. to Christopher sebastianelli, $179,900; exeter.

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Pittston resident charged in deadly shooting Police say Joey Bernard Graves Jr. shot and killed Brandon Thomas early Saturday. BY JAMES HALPIN STAFF WRITER

THE CITIZENS’ VOICE FILE

Shaheen Mackey, inset, died after a struggle at the Luzerne County Correctional Facility in 2018.

INMATE IGNORED

Internal reports show Mackey told a CO he had a seizure BY JAMES HALPIN STAFF WRITER

In the moments leading up to the deadly struggle that would claim Shaheen Mackey’s life, he informed a correctional officer at the Luzerne County Correctional Facility that he had just experienced a seizure, according to internal documents obtained by The Citizens’ Voice. Incident reports prepared by correctional officers in the aftermath of the June 6, 2018, struggle that led to the death of the 41-year-

old inmate say many of them believed Mackey was high on drugs because, as one officer described it, his “resistance was like that of someone on bath salts.” In fact, Mackey, who was being held on an alleged protection-from-abuse order violation, was not under the influence of drugs but had suffered from a seizure, according to attorneys at Dyller and Solomon Law, which represented his family in a lawsuit that resulted in a $3 million settlement with Luzerne County.

The reports obtained by The Citizens’ Voice show that medical officials at the Columbia County Prison, where Mackey was initially incarcerated, noted Mackey had been involved in “testing for seizures.” Two inmates also provided statements that they believed Mackey had been having a seizure. One of them reported Mackey’s “eyes were in the back of his head and (he) was foaming out the mouth and shaking.” Please see MACKEY, Page A6

LCCF surveillance video shows prolonged struggle with Mackey BY JAMES HALPIN STAFF WRITER

Surveillance footage from inside the Luzerne County Correctional Facility shows officers rushing Shaheen Mackey’s cell prior to a prolonged struggle that ultimately claimed his life. Mackey, 41, of Berwick, died two days after the June 6, 2018, struggle that resulted in a $3 million settlement between his family and Luzerne County. Video previously released

MORE ONLINE

Watch the video at citizensvoice.com.

showed a swarm of correctional officers subduing Mackey by repeatedly Tasering him while he was strapped in a restraint chair. Officers in the video can be heard speculating that he was under the influence of methamphetamine. Please see VIDEO, Page A6

Luzerne County Correctional Officers can be seen removing Shaheen Mackey from his cell on June 6, 2018.

A Pittston man pulled a rifle on a man helping his girlfriend unload bags from a vehicle and shot him dead on the spot, according to police. Joey Bernard Graves Jr., 32, is charged with criminal homicide and illegal weapons possession following the shooting that killed Brandon Thomas, no age or address given. According to the complaint, police were dispatched to 82 Parsonage St. around 2:15 a.m. Saturday to a report of an open line 911 call with a woman screaming for help. Neighbors told officers arriving on scene that they heard gunshots in the area of the home. In the street in front of the home, police encountered Graves, who was barefoot and wearing a T-shirt and shorts. “I shot him,” the complaint quotes Graves as saying. “I think he is dead. Please don’t kill me.” Officers took Graves into custody without incident. Investigators found Thomas dead in the backyard near a basement door. He had been shot multiple times in his torso and extremities, police said. A rifle was recovered from underneath a wheelbarrow on the side of the house, police said. During questioning, Graves told police that his girlfriend, Samantha Smart, had arrived home shortly before the shooting with Thomas, who was her friend, following behind in his own vehicle. Please see HOMICIDE, Page A6

ADVE RTISE M E NT

Arena, visitors bureau OK despite virus

Both rely on revenue from the county hotel tax, which has decreased sharply since March. BY ERIC MARK STAFF WRITER

The two entities that rely on revenue from Luzerne County’s hotel tax are functioning well despite reduced revenues due to the coronavirus pandemic. For now, anyway. The hotel tax took effect in 1996 to fund tourism in the county and pay for the con-

struction of Mohegan Sun Arena in Wilkes-Barre Twp., then in the planning stages. A 5% tax is added to the bill for all hotel rooms booked in Luzerne County, in addition to the 6% state tax. The county treasurer’s office collects 2% of total hotel tax revenue as an administrative fee. Of the remainder, the Luzer ne County Convention Center Authority, which oversees the operations of Mohegan Sun Arena, receives 80%, while the county convention and visitors bureau receives 20%. In both 2018 and 2019, the hotel tax generated slightly

more than $3 million, of which the convention center authority received about $2.4 million and the visitors bureau received about $600,000 each year. That provided a crucial revenue stream for the authority to pay down the debt it owes on bonds issued more than 20 years ago to build the arena. Hotel tax revenue plummeted in March because of the pandemic. Revenue has increased slowly the past few months, as people began to travel more during the summer, but is still well below last year’s levels.

Convention Center Authority

The convention center authority continues to make monthly payments on the arena construction debt despite the pandemic’s impact on hotel tax revenue, authority Chairman Gary Zingaretti said. A substantial reserve fund built up over many years helped the authority make its monthly debt service payment of about $165,000 during several months of drastically reduced revenue, Zingaretti said. Please see HOTEL, Page A4

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A6 THE CITIZENS' VOICE

SuNday, SEpTEmbEr 13, 2020

MACKEY: Repeatedly Tasered FrOm paGE a1

SEaN mCKEaG / STaFF pHOTOGrapHEr

Getting a taste of those fair favorites Since the Luzerne County Fair was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic, organizers are hosting a ‘Taste of the Fair’ event in its place featuring fair food favorites. The event continues Sunday from noon to 7 p.m. at the Luzerne County Fairgrounds in Lehman Twp. Admission and parking are free and masks are required. Donations of non-perishable items are being accepted for the Back Mountain Food Pantry. ABOVE: Emmalin Kane, 6, and her brother Liam Kane, 9, of Nanticoke, show off their treats. RIGHT: Sharon Balint, of Bulldog BBQ, puts together a carryout container. BELOW: Constance Koutoufaris, of Bethel Park, works to make calzones at the John the Greek stand. For more photos, visit citizensvoice.com.

SEaN mCKEaG / STaFF pHOTOGrapHEr

In a County Report of Extraordinary Occurrence, then-Capt. Frank Hacken wrote that officers initially responded to Mackey’s cell at the request of his cellmate. “(The cellmate’s) request for assistance was determined to be due to Mackey’s behavior in the cell, which (the cellmate) reported as follows,” Hacken wrote. “Acting delusional, paranoid, scared and out of it, talking to self, more and more violent in demeanor, talking to things or people not there and at one point stated ‘I just had a seizure,’ screamed in a loud violent manner.” Mackey’scellmatewroteina statement that Mackey told him he’d had a seizure and “didn’t know where he was.” The cellmate called for medical assistance and Mackey began spitting and screaming “as though he was arguing with himself,” according to the statement. The inmate described Mackey as becoming “violent and aggressive” as the incident progressed. Another inmate who was working as a monitor said that after witnessing Mackey experience an apparent seizure, he heard the cellmate begin yelling that Mackey was becoming “extremely violent” and “ripping his own fingernails off.” The documents also show that the officer who initially responded to Mackey’s cell for a medical situation was immediately told about his seizure.

“As this C/O waited for medical, inmate Mackey, Shaheen, stated he just had a seizure,” Correctional Officer Joseph Katra wrote. “But this C/O Katra noticed inmate Mackey, Shaheen laying on his bunk picking at his fingernails.” Katra’s account suggests that Mackey did not become confrontational until after his cellmate was released from the room. Mackey then jumped down fromthetopbunkandstoodup, prompting Katra to tell him to sit on the bunkso a nurse could checkhisvitals,thereportsays. Mackey refused and approached Katra, who then instructed him to sit on the toilet, according to the report. “He started pushing his way to the open door and possibly knocking over medical staff,” Katra wrote. “This C/O Katra held inmate Mackey, Shaheen, back from running out of his cell by grabbing him by the shirt top and the back of his pants. This C/O then placed inmate Mackey, Shaheen onto the floor and called for an all available (response). It took all this C/O Katra’s strength to hold this inmate on the floor til help arrived. Inmate Mackey, Shaheen was fighting this C/O Katra the whole time by swinging his arms and kicking his legs and screaming the whole time.” Surveillance video obtained by The Citizens’ Voice shows a squad of correctional officers rushed Mackey’s cell. They handcuffed him, shackled his anklesandputaspitmaskover

his entire face, including his eyes. Mackey was pinned in a restraint chair and repeatedly Tasered during an intense struggle that followed. He eventually went unconscious and officers performed CPR until he was taken to Wilkes-Barre General Hospital, where he died two days later. The Luzerne County Coroner’s Office ruled Mackey died of heart failure in a death attributed to natural causes. District Attorney Stefanie Salavantis determined that the officers who restrained and repeatedly Tasered Mackey did not break the law. “This incident began with one inmate witness, who said he feared for his life, screaming for help because Mr. Mackey was violently attempting to chew and rip his fingernails off, ripping out his own hair and spitting, which was confirmed by another inmate,” Salavantis said in a statement in August. “A C.O. responded with two medical assistants, but could not calm Mr. Mackey down or restrain him and in fact lost his radio in the process resulting in the cellmate running to the command center screaming that the C.O. needed help.” Luzerne County Council in June approved the $3 million settlement with Mackey’s family.Lastweek,thebodydeclined to hire an independent consultant to review the case. Contact the writer: jhalpin@citizensvoice.com 570-821-2058

VIDEO: Clears ‘false narrative’ FrOm paGE a1

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In fact, Mackey was not on any drugs and was in the midst of a seizure, according to his family’sattorneysatDyllerand Solomon Law in Wilkes-Barre. “You can see from this video that Mr. Mackey’s medical emergency was mishandled from the very beginning,” attorney Theron J. Solomon said. “There’s been this false narrative floating around that he did something wrong at some point and this clears that up. At no point in any of this did Mr. Mackey do anything but beg for help from the staff at LCCF.” The newly released footage obtained by The Citizens’ Voice contains no audio but documents the moments leading up to the deadly struggle. The video shows an inmate on the outside of Mackey’s cell apparently conversing with Mackey’s cellmate. At around 6:09 p.m., the inmate approaches the cell and looks inside. A short time later, a correctional officer does the same. The video shows an officer speaking through the door before two nurses go up the stairs to the second-tier cell, oneof themcarryingamedical cart. The officer opens the door and allows the cellmate to exit prior to going inside the cell. Around 6:12 p.m., Mackey is seenattemptingtoleavethecell several times, but the officer pulls him back inside. A struggle then appears to begin inside the cell, prompting several other inmates to run over to look inside. Seconds later, nine other correctional officers come running up the steps to Mackey’s cell and begin restrain-

ing him on the cell floor. Around 6:14 p.m., an officer runs and gets a restraint chair. Then at 6:19 p.m., six officers carry Mackey out of his cell face-down, with his hands in cuffs and his ankles in shackles. A white cloth also covers his entire face, including his eyes. The officers carry Mackey down the stairs and strap him to the restraint chair before wheeling him to an adjacent corridor. There, another struggle ensues during which at least 16 personnel watch or work to subdue Mackey, who was being held at the jail for an alleged violation of a protection-fromabuse order. They eventually wheel him to an elevator, inside which his legs can be seen flailing and his face, completely covered by the mask, shakes. At 6:27 p.m. — 15 minutes after the struggle began — Mackeyisbroughtintothefirst floorlockupcage,whereanofficer begins filming with the handheld camera that recorded the previously released 23-minute long clip. In that footage, which does have audio, officers are heard repeatedly telling Mackey to calm down, comply and breathe. Throughout the first several minutes of the video, Mackey can be seen straining and heard screaming and crying as correctional officers ask him what drugs he took. “He’s strong,” one officer said. “I don’t know what he’s on. Probably meth. When they get pumped on meth they get power like this. Just make sure you control that other (expletive) hand.” The sound of Tasers firing repeatedly can be heard — the

lawsuit alleges he was shocked atleast20times—beforeMackey goes unconscious and nurses administer Narcan, a drug that can revive drug overdose patients. According to the lawsuit, however, Mackey was not under the influence of any drugs. Nurses and correctional officers initiated CPR while Mackey is still strapped to the restraint chair until an officer tells them Mackey needs to be removed. A second clip from the restraint room, which The Citizens’ Voice also obtained, shows Wilkes-Barre Fire Department personnel performing CPR on Mackey. At one point, one of them asks how long Mackey had been down for. Officers answer that it had been about 20-25 minutes. “We might need to get him unhandcuffed here,” one firefighter says. “You need to call 911 for me — somebody. Have them get an engine here, tell them it’s a cardiac arrest, priority one.” Luzerne County District Attorney Stefanie Salavantis investigated the incident and determined the involved officers did not break the law and were justified in their use of force. Luzerne County Council in June approved the $3 million settlement with Mackey’s family. However, on Tuesday council voted against hiring an outside consultant to review the case. County Manager David Pedri did not immediately return a message seeking comment Friday. Contact the writer: jhalpin@citizensvoice.com 570-821-2058

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