New details emerge about arrest of man shot by Munhall police in holding cell

The man Munhall police shot last week in a borough holding cell because, they said, he was strangling an officer, had been taken into custody about an hour earlier for strangling a woman in her home and resisting arrest, according to court papers.

Christopher Allie, 38, of Pittsburgh’s Carrick neighborhood, strangled the woman and threatened to kill her after they watched the Super Bowl together on Feb. 9 at a bar, a criminal complaint said.

The two went to the woman’s home and Allie “kept trying to get (the woman) to let him stay over,” but she refused, saying her children were upstairs, the complaint said.

Allie knocked her down, strangled her and threatened to kill her, police said.

Munhall police said they were called to the woman’s East 18th Avenue home at 11:25 p.m. Officers arrested Allie after they forced him to the ground for refusing commands, the complaint said.

About 12:40 a.m., Allie fought with two Munhall police officers in a holding cell inside the borough’s municipal building, authorities said. Allie had tried to block the officers’ camera view of the cell, according to police.

Allie tried to grab an officer’s neck when the officer entered the cell, the complaint said. The officer’s hands went up, which diverted the Taser he was deploying toward the ceiling, according to police.

A second officer deployed a Taser but Allie kept fighting, the complaint said.

When Allie began to choke an officer, that officer fired three shots, striking Allie three times in the torso, police said.

“Dude, I think you broke my rib,” Allie said after being shot, according to the complaint.

Officials have not identified the officers.

Allegheny County Police are investigating. On Friday, they charged Allie with aggravated assault, strangulation and resisting arrest in the holding cell incident.

Munhall police charged him Friday in connection with the domestic dispute, with burglary, robbery, making terroristic threats, strangulation, theft by unlawful taking and simple assault.

Allie was arraigned Saturday while being treated at UPMC Mercy hospital, Jim Madalinsky, a county police spokesperson, said. He remained hospitalized Tuesday, guarded by county police officers.

No attorney for Allie was listed in court records. His preliminary hearing on both sets of charges is scheduled for Feb. 26. Bail was set at $5,000 in the domestic dispute and $25,000 in the incident with the police.

Prior record

Munhall officials have released few details about the holding-cell shooting or the violent dispute that led to it.

“There’s not a lot I can say right now,” Munhall Mayor Rob Falce told TribLive last week. “It’s been turned over to county investigators.”

Falce, borough Councilman Rick Brennan and Robert Macey, who represents Munhall on Allegheny County Council, have not returned multiple phone calls seeking comment.

Munhall police Chief Thomas Fullard has not responded to phone calls, emails or an in-person visit to the municipal building.

Several issues remain unclear about the incident, including why officers entered the holding cell, what Munhall police protocols are for monitoring arrestees and why the second officer’s Taser was ineffective.

Allie has been charged for previous assaults and strangling incidents.

He pleaded guilty in 2012 to aggravated assault, court records show. A judge sentenced him to three to 10 years in prison.

Allie served about one year of that sentence from May 2017 to October 2018, according to the state Department of Corrections.

In 2022, Allie pleaded guilty to strangulation and simple assault in Sharpsburg, court records show. A judge sentenced him to 2 1/2 to 5 years in prison.

Allie also was sentenced to 18 months probation after pleading guilty to disorderly conduct and resisting arrest charges in 2015, court records show. In 2011, he was sentenced to 11 to 23 months in prison on drug charges.

Allie “has been incarcerated at the Allegheny County Jail a number of times,” Jesse Gelynese, a jail spokesman, said Tuesday. He declined further comment.

Allie has been named as a defendant in three restraining orders — one each in 2005, 2007 and 2019, civil court records show. Different women filed each of the protection-from-abuse request.