Sep 12, 2016 2 min read

Testimony is likely to begin Tuesday in Washington County Court in the case of a state trooper charged with misdemeanor simple assault of his wife and a summary offense of harassment by physical contact last fall.

North Strabane Township police charged Christopher J. Campbell, 34, on Oct. 25 after being called to the Campbell family home in Meadowbrook. Emily Campbell suffered a mark on her face and blackening of an eye in a confrontation with her husband, police said. She described him at a preliminary hearing in December as being “out of control,” punching a hole in upstairs drywall, pulling down a shower curtain and smashing a wooden statue on their son’s crib. She said her husband struck her face with an open palm.

Jury selection from a pool of about 40 men and women was taking place Monday before Judge Gary Gilman, who cautioned jurors that “the charges themselves are not evidence” and “all persons who come before the court are presumed to be innocent,” before ordering them not to discuss the case with anyone and avoid news coverage.

Assistant District Attorney Kristin Clingerman and Campbell’s attorney, Christopher Blackwell, will choose a dozen jurors and two alternates.

Campbell, who joined the state police in 2008, was assigned to Troop B’s Washington station in 2012. He is free on $5,000 unsecured bond.