Two Whitehall Police Officers Injured During Altercation

Two Officers Injured

Two Whitehall Borough police officers were injured while trying to arrest a man for marijuana possession in the Wallace (Prospect) Park area at around 1:44 a.m. on Sunday, Whitehall police Deputy Chief Richard M. Danko said.

The officers were responding to a report of a suspicious vehicle pulling into the rear of the 1550 Radford Rd. apartments building, and upon investigating, the officers came across Kenneth Charles Benzo, 27, who lives at 1 Palisades Plaza, Apt. B4, in Rankin Borough. Benzo was in possession of a small amount of marijuana, Danko said.

Benzo tried to run from the officers. He was eventually wrestled down by them, but both officers were injured in the process, Danko said. Neither officer has yet to return to work, but one is due back soon.

Benzo is being charged with aggravated assault, resisting arrest, escape and possession of marijuana.

No Good Deed Goes Unpunished?

A woman who said that she was donating clothing to families in the Prospect Park area is missing something that she never intended to donate.

Danko said that the woman stopped by the Whitehall police station at around 7:04 p.m. on Sunday to report that a box of silver flatware was stolen from the trunk of her vehicle while she was giving out the clothes there between 1 p.m. and 1:30 p.m. that day.

Police are investigating.

Nearly $2,000 Burglary on Parkline Drive

A man called police at around 1:27 a.m. on Thursday to report that his girlfriend's residence in the 1685 Parkline Dr. apartments building of the Prospect Park area had recently been burglarized, Danko said.

The couple said that they left the girlfriend's apartment at around 4 p.m. the day before and returned shortly before calling the police. When they returned, they found several items missing, including jewelry, a 50-inch LCD TV and a silver-colored Hewlett-Packard laptop. The aggregate value of the missing items is estimated at $1,825.

The burglar or burglars gained entry to the apartment through a window, Danko said. The Allegheny County Crime Scene Unit has processed the apartment, fingerprints were taken, and the incident is under investigation.

Read through other Whitehall police items here.

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