Woman charged with public drunkenness, punching cop at Greensburg bar
A woman is accused of punching a Greensburg police officer Thursday night after becoming intoxicated and refusing to leave a downtown bar.
Valeri Renee Price, 30, of Greensburg, is charged with resisting arrest, aggravated and simple assault, defiant trespass and public drunkenness at Hugo’s Taproom on West Pittsburgh Street.
In a criminal complaint, Greensburg patrolman William Newmyer said he responded to Hugo’s shortly before 9 p.m. when a bar employee reported an intoxicated patron was refusing to leave after being denied service.
Newmyer said he repeatedly asked the patron — later identified as Price — to leave and each time she refused. According to the complaint, Price “only sat on the bar stool and smiled.”
The officer advised Price she was under arrest, brought her to her feet and attempted to handcuff her. But she “quickly turned around and began to pull her arm away as she tried to punch me and other officers,” Newmyer said in the complaint, adding, “I grabbed a hold of Price’s body and took her to the ground, at which time she fell on to her back and continued to use both arms to try and punch me.”
He said Price “did make contact with a few of her punches on my body and face as I attempted to control her.”
Newmyer said, he “used two closed fist strikes” to stop Price, who was then “flipped over and handcuffed behind her back.”
According to the complaint, Price would provide only her first name to police. They identified her after taking her photograph.
She was arraigned Friday before Greensburg District Judge Chris Flanigan and was placed in the Westmoreland County Prison. According to court documents, Flanigan denied bail, indicating that, otherwise, “no combination of conditions will more likely than not assure the safety of the community.”
Court documents indicate Price is awaiting trial in Westmoreland County Court on charges of aggravated and simple assault, resisting arrest and public drunkenness filed by state police, stemming from a Feb. 23 incident.
Jeff Himler is a TribLive reporter covering Greater Latrobe, Ligonier Valley, Mt. Pleasant Area and Derry Area school districts and their communities. He also reports on transportation issues. A journalist for more than three decades, he enjoys delving into local history. He can be reached at jhimler@triblive.com.
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