Aug 10, 2022 3 min read

A federal lawsuit has been filed against a Washington police officer accused of shooting at a fleeing suspect and narrowly missing a bystander two years ago.

Rosylen Fedd of Washington filed the lawsuit Monday against Officer Nicholas Powell claiming she was nearly struck when he discharged his weapon trying to stop the suspect at the GetGo convenience store in the city on Aug. 9, 2020.

Officers were attempting to arrest Jesse Charnik after he was accused of stealing a bicycle when he entered the convenience store on East Wylie Avenue and was found in the restroom. Charnik struggled with Powell and fellow city police Officer Paul Becker, but was able to get away and run from the store, according to the lawsuit.

The lawsuit claims Powell then shot at Charnik, who was not armed at the time, narrowly missing both the suspect and Fedd “by mere inches” as she entered the store. But Fedd injured her arms, legs and hip when she fell to the ground during the incident, according to the lawsuit.

“It was Defendant Powell who increased the risk of harm and danger to Fedd by Powell unreasonably shooting at Charnik, which, only by the grace of God, did not strike and then harm or kill Fedd,” the lawsuit states.

Charnik, 33, of Avella, was eventually arrested and charged with misdemeanor counts of theft, resisting arrest and simple assault. He pleaded guilty to all three charges in April 2021 and was sentenced to serve three to 23 months in jail.

City police opened an internal investigation into the matter and acknowledged at the time that a police officer fired a weapon, but did not name the patrolman. The inquiry was closed without details being released publicly and its findings were handed over to then district attorney Gene Vittone, who did not file charges against Powell.

“We had an officer that did discharge his weapon at the incident,” former city police chief Robert Wilson said a day after the incident. “No one was shot, thank God.”

Criminal court documents charging Charnik never mentioned that a bystander was nearly struck by an officer’s bullet. Becker wrote in the criminal complaint that Powell was out of his view when he heard a gunshot.

Neither Noah Geary, who is Fedd’s attorney and filed the lawsuit in federal court in Pittsburgh, nor city solicitor Jack Cambest responded to phone calls seeking comment Tuesday. A phone message left for Powell, who is still a member of the Washington Police Department, was not returned.

The lawsuit contends Powell “used unreasonable, excessive, deadly force by shooting at Charnik while Fedd was in the line of fire” and is requesting unspecified compensation.