Cop sued for second time this year

FOR THE SECOND TIME this year, a motorist has filed a lawsuit against Philadelphia Police Officer Allen Marsh Jr., claiming that the officer assaulted him on a city street.

In his suit, which was filed yesterday in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas, Michael Marcantonio, a truck driver from Tabernacle, N.J., claims that his big rig was stopped behind several police cars at 13th and Spruce streets in Center City on Oct. 14, 2014.

Once the officers on scene took a man into custody for unknown reasons, they did not move their patrol cars and continued to block the roadway for about 20 minutes, according to Marcantonio's lawyer, Brian Zeiger.

Marcantonio got out of his truck and asked Marsh and the officers to move their vehicles, so he could pass, but instead, Marsh "beat Plaintiff Marcantonio until he was almost unconscious," the lawsuit said.

"He just pushes him up against the back of something for no reason and just starts beating on him," Zeiger said. "The police get to do whatever they want and if a citizen for even one second questions them, they can say they were provoked."

Marcantonio suffered brain injuries as a result of the alleged beating, Zeiger said, and Marsh charged him with disorderly conduct, a charge that eventually was dismissed by a judge at trial in Municipal Court.

According to the suit, the entire incident was captured on video. Zeiger declined to release that video yesterday, "because it is the subject of litigation," but he said the video came from the Marcantonio's truck, which is equipped with cameras.

Also named as a plaintiff in the suit is Frank Cosentino, Marcantonio's friend, who was also on scene that day. Cosentino alleges that when Marsh ordered him to open the trailer of the truck and he did not move quickly enough, Marsh pushed him out of the way and opened it himself.

In their suit, Marcantonio and Cosentino accuse Marsh of false imprisonment, assault and battery and malicious prosecution.

Earlier this year, Frederick Smith accused Marsh of excessive force, false imprisonment and other related offenses related to a May 19 incident at 12th and Chestnut streets in Center City.

In his suit, Smith claimed that when Marsh saw him arguing with a Philadelphia Parking Authority ticket-writer, Marsh slammed Smith against a car so hard that it dented the metal of the car and cracked the windshield, according to witnesses.

Marsh then arrested Smith for disorderly conduct, resisting arrest and failure to disperse.

That incident too was captured on video. Smith has rejected an offer from prosecutors to enter a probationary program and is set to take his case to trial in Municipal Court later this month, according to online court records.

According to a previous report in the Daily News, five other people filed citizens' complaints against Marsh with Internal Affairs, at least one of which was for assault. None of those complaints was sustained.

The Philadelphia Police Department's Public Affairs Unit said it could not comment on pending litigation yesterday, but the office did confirm Marsh is still on active patrol.