PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — A former sergeant with the Norristown Police Department has been charged with felony assault, accused of intentionally hitting a naked man with his police vehicle while responding to a call earlier this month.
Around 8 a.m. on Feb. 4, Norristown police were called to Stanbridge and Airy streets for a report of a naked man screaming and damaging cars. The affidavit of probable cause says several other officers were on the scene by the time the street supervisor, Sgt. Daniel DeOrzio, arrived.
DeOrzio called over the radio and told other officers to tell a stopped truck to move out of the way. Once it moved, the complaint says, DeOrzio accelerated without warning and steered to his right, hitting the man.
The man was hospitalized. DeOrzio was immediately placed on administrative leave as the Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office investigated.
The criminal complaint calls it “intentional,” saying it was not “a bump or a tap. It was a strike, hard enough to send [the victim] into the air and several feet away.” The charging document says the man was naked, standing with his hands on his hips; he was not armed or holding anything that could be mistaken as a weapon.
DeOrzio, 52, is charged with felony aggravated assault, simple assault, official oppression, and recklessly endangering another person.
He submitted his resignation from the police force on Feb. 6 and is no longer employed with the department.
DeOrzio is free on $100,000 unsecured bail. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for later this month.