Police officers suspended for misconduct

Three University Police officers were suspended last night for their participation in two alleged beating incidents on September 16, according to Public Safety Managing Director Thomas Seamon. Officer Thomas McDade, who faces a felony charge of aggravated assault, will be dismissed from the force today, Seamon added. McDade allegedly beat Drexel University alumnus Gregory Peifer in front of FUBAR at about 1:15 a.m., Seamon said. McDade was off duty at the time, Seamon added. Peifer suffered a broken jaw and was treated at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, where he received 28 stitches, Seamon said. A warrant has been issued for McDade's arrest for felony aggravated assault and for recklessly endangering another person, he said, adding that McDade is expected to surrender to Southwest Detectives today. The allegations of misconduct are not the first against McDade, Seamon noted. Seamon said employment contracts between Penn and University Police officers state that any officer charged with a felony is subject to immediate dismissal. Another officer's role in the same incident is also being questioned, according to Seamon. He said that according to a third party who witnessed the incident at FUBAR, officer Frederick Ricelli, who was also off duty, pushed Drexel alumnus Todd Weitzman several times and hit him with a flashlight to prevent him from coming to Peifer's aid. Seamon would not identify the witness. Ricelli had been working as a security guard at FUBAR that night, club manager Ryan Barnett said. He continues to work at the club on Friday and Saturday nights, owner Jim Millspaugh said. McDade was also allegedly involved in an earlier incident that night, Seamon said. He said two homeless men told police and hospital personnel that they were beaten by McDade and officer Antonio Serrano between 8:30 and 9:30 p.m., while the officers were uniformed and on duty. Seamon said the homeless men claim McDade and Serrano picked them up separately and transported them to the Civic Center in a police van. The men allege they were beaten by the officers behind the building, he added. A Southwest Detectives' criminal investigation into both the alleged FUBAR and homeless incidents sustained the allegations, Seamon said. The University Police's internal investigation into the homeless incident also sustained the allegations, he added. "Unfortunately, we have here several officers who really violated their oaths," Seamon said. The FUBAR investigation remains open, while police look into whether other people were involved in the altercation, Seamon said. Both Ricelli and Serrano have been suspended with pay pending disciplinary hearings with University Police Chief George Clisby today, Seamon said. "We're going to take strict disciplinary measures," Seamon said. McDade and Serrano were taken off the street and placed on administrative office duty September 18, Seamon said. Ricelli was placed on administrative duty October 7. The District Attorney's office has declined to press charges against Serrano because "they found they did not have a reasonable expectation of conviction," according to Seamon. Millspaugh said he did not hear about the incident until last Friday, when Philadelphia Police asked him if any of his security guards were involved in the incident. Millspaugh said he asked Ricelli about the incident because the police told him an off-duty officer was involved. Ricelli told him he knew nothing about the incident, Millspaugh said. "It's impossible that Fred was involved," Barnett said. He said Ricelli was at a door around the corner from where police told him the altercation occurred. Telephone calls to McDade and Ricelli were not returned, and Serrano refused to comment. Daily Pennsylvanian reporter Josh Fineman contributed to this story.