POTTSTOWN, Pa. (KYW Newsradio) — A Montgomery County man has been found guilty of shooting a Pottstown police officer in the leg during a struggle over the officer’s gun last year.
William Ciccoli Jr., 42, called police to his Chestnut Street apartment on Nov. 15, 2024, around 4:30 p.m. for a domestic disturbance, claiming his girlfriend hit him with a golf club.
Police say the girlfriend gave a different account, saying Ciccoli dragged her through the apartment, broke her phone and choked her.
As police tried to put handcuffs on Ciccoli, they say he hit an officer, then, while struggling with Cpl. Anthony Fischer, Ciccoli reached for Fischer’s gun and pulled the trigger, shooting Fischer in the leg.
Ciccoli denies pulling the trigger, but Steele says the jury was able to see the body camera footage.
“The defendant lost control, and when he lost control, he resorted to violence, and he tried to get Cpl. Anthony Fisher's gun, and you know, in the course of the struggle, he pulled the trigger on the gun,” said Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin Steele.
Fischer testified at Ciccoli’s trial, saying he needed four surgeries, and while doctors were able to save his leg, he doesn’t have full use of it and still lives with pain.
Ciccoli was found not guilty of attempted murder of a police officer, but was convicted of two counts of aggravated assault, simple assault of his girlfriend and recklessly endangering another person. He faces a minimum of 20 to 40 years in prison.