WEST MIFFLIN, Pa. —
A local woman said West Mifflin police used excessive force against her son after they arrested him on Wednesday.
Mary Arelt said photos show her 17-year-old son, Joshua Goughenour, covered in bruises and scratches after she said her son said police brutalized him.
Arelt said the incident began Wednesday night at a house on Nordeen Drive when Goughenour’s 22-year-old cousin bolted into the woods when officers came to serve a felony arrest warrant on him.
Once police had caught the cousin, Arelt said her son ran after him to say goodbye and that is when he was tackled to the ground by a detective.
“They didn’t even read him his rights. Just told him he was under arrest,” said Arelt.
Arelt said Goughenour spent the following day in the hospital after claiming he was brutalized by a West Mifflin police officer for allegedly resisting arrest and hindering an arrest.
Arelt claims this beating was so over the top that one of the officers actually left his mark on her son’s back.
“My son has bruises on his face and arms like someone put their shoes on him,” said Arelt. “I believe it was police brutality.”
According to West Mifflin Police Chief Ken Davies, Goughenour and his friends were the ones being aggressive even after being warned not to interfere with the arrest of Goughenour’s cousin.
Davies confirmed that there was a physical altercation and that one of his officers was also injured while trying to keep Goughenour away.
Arelt did admit that her son has had trouble with the law in the past, but believes that even if her son was in the wrong, this kind of punishment hardly fits the crime.
“It is uncalled for for someone to be treated like dirt,” Arelt said.
Davies said he stands by his comment that his officers did not use excessive force.
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