By Chris Togneri
Pittsburgh Tribune Review
PITTSBURGH, Pa. -- Police arrested a Pittsburgh firefighter and an Allegheny County corrections officer on charges that they and others attacked a man and beat his girlfriend unconscious in an Oakland bar in February.
Firefighter Michael Kelly, 33, of Lincoln Place and corrections officer Anthony Berger, 28, of West Mifflin face charges of aggravated assault for their alleged roles in a melee on Feb. 27 inside Hideaway Bar on Bates Street.
Both men were arraigned on Saturday. Preliminary hearings are set for Wednesday.
The brawl began when J.R. Berger, the leader of a motorcycle group known as the Lawdogs, cracked a bottle over Jeff Morgan’s head when Morgan touched his motorcycle vest, according to a police affidavit supporting the charges. Morgan fell to the ground and was repeatedly kicked and punched by several men, including Kelly and Anthony Berger, the affidavit states.
When Morgan’s girlfriend, Nicole Murphy, tried to stop the beating, a man grabbed her by the hair, punched her repeatedly, dragged her down the bar, then pinned her to the ground with a bar stool, the affidavit states.
Both victims were hospitalized. Murphy, who has a brain tumor, is under the care of a neurologist; Morgan suffered a concussion and needed staples to close a head wound and 60 stitches for a mouth wound, according to the affidavit.
In November and December, four city firefighters were arrested for alcohol-related crimes, prompting fire Chief Darryl Jones in January to call for a “zero-tolerance” policy when dealing with how employees act in public when drinking.
Jones could not be reached last night.
, 33, of Lincoln Place and corrections officer Anthony Berger, 28, of West Mifflin face charges of aggravated assault for their alleged roles in a melee on Feb. 27 inside Hideaway Bar on Bates Street.
Both men were arraigned on Saturday. Preliminary hearings are set for Wednesday.
The brawl began when J.R. Berger, the leader of a motorcycle group known as the Lawdogs, cracked a bottle over Jeff Morgan’s head when Morgan touched his motorcycle vest, according to a police affidavit supporting the charges. Morgan fell to the ground and was repeatedly kicked and punched by several men, including Kelly and Anthony Berger, the affidavit states.
When Morgan’s girlfriend, Nicole Murphy, tried to stop the beating, a man grabbed her by the hair, punched her repeatedly, dragged her down the bar, then pinned her to the ground with a bar stool, the affidavit states.
Both victims were hospitalized. Murphy, who has a brain tumor, is under the care of a neurologist; Morgan suffered a concussion and needed staples to close a head wound and 60 stitches for a mouth wound, according to the affidavit.
In November and December, four city firefighters were arrested for alcohol-related crimes, prompting fire Chief Darryl Jones in January to call for a “zero-tolerance” policy when dealing with how employees act in public when drinking.
Jones could not be reached last night.
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