Vandergrift police officer, suspended after encounter with Black restaurant patron, returns to work
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Vandergrift Police Officer William Moore, who was suspended last month for unprofessional conduct, is back on duty.
Council member Casimer Maszgay confirmed Tuesday that Moore returned to his beat last week. Vandergrift Police Chief Joe Caporali refused to comment on Moore’s return, citing a personnel matter. Moore also declined to comment about his reinstatement.
Moore was placed on unpaid suspension June 8 by council after an internal investigation of an incident April 17 at G&G Restaurant on Columbia Avenue.
At around 8 a.m. that day, Moore responded to a Westmoreland 911 call about a Black male reportedly smoking marijuana outside of G&G. Inside the restaurant, he initiated a conversation with Marcus Townsend, a Black male.
Townsend recorded parts of the conversation and subsequent events with his cellphone. He later posted several videos on social media, accusing Moore of racial profiling.
He can be heard on the video asking why he was being questioned and then asked to leave the restaurant by the officer. He asked the officer what crimes he had committed before being told to leave.
In an exchange outside the restaurant, Townsend said in one video, “You came straight to the Black dude sitting at the table.”
“Because I got called for you,” Moore, who is white, can be heard responding.
“For me?”
“Yeah, because you were the one smoking weed,” Moore replied.
In an interview in June, he denied he had been smoking marijuana outside the restaurant. He said he was asked to leave the diner by Moore.
Townsend was not charged with any crime.
The videos show their conversations outside the restaurant, with another Vandergrift officer present.
Townsend, 20, is a 2018 graduate of Kiski High School and a Vandergrift resident.
Moore was removed from the police schedule on April 19 and was paid while the borough launched an internal investigation. He was subsequently suspended for four weeks without pay.
The story garnered a response from Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro, who described Moore’s actions as “unprofessional” in a post on April 26 to his official Twitter account.
Townsend declined to comment Tuesday about Moore’s return to the force.
Moore is one of eight full-time officers in Vandergrift and a 20-year veteran of the department.
After last week’s council meeting, acting Solicitor Alaine G. Generelli declined to comment when asked about Moore’s expected return.
Vandergrift Mayor Barb Turiak did not return phone calls seeking comment. The mayor’s office oversees the police department.