A patrolman with the Aliquippa police department has filed a federal lawsuit against the city mayor and county district attorney, alleging they violated his constitutional rights by demoting him and refusing to prosecute criminal cases he files against defendants.
Officer Kenneth Watkins alleges Mayor Dwan Walker and District Attorney David Lozier unlawfully retaliated against him for exercising his constitutional rights during a December 2018 court hearing for acting Aliquippa police chief Joseph Perciavalle.
County detectives arrested Perciavalle on June 8, 2018 on charges of felony distribution of sexually explicit material to a minor, felony unlawful contact with a minor, and misdemeanor corruption of a minor. County detectives alleged that Perciavalle sent then-17-year-old Lauren Watkins a text message containing a short video of a semi-nude woman urinating while on a swing.
