Family remembers Industry man allegedly killed by off-duty police officer

INDUSTRY – The only thing Ken Vinyard loved more than Alabama Crimson Tide football, boating and Elvis was his family.

When he wasn’t working, the spirited 48-year-old truck driver from Industry could most often be found on the water with his fiancée, or at Luanne’s Route 68 cracking jokes with friends. He adored his daughters — one aptly named Crimson — and his sisters, Lisa and Debbie.

He was recently voted in as Beaver Valley Yacht Club’s Commodore, and was “truly the life of any party,” said his fiancée, Marcy Beatty. The two planned to get married later this year.

“And he would give you the shirt off his back,” she said.

Vinyard also considered himself a fierce supporter of law enforcement, counting a number of police officers among his close friends.

Those officers, Beatty said, are “outraged” following Vinyard’s death Sunday evening — witnesses say the good Samaritan was killed by an off-duty police officer while helping a shooting victim in the parking lot of Center Township's Walmart Plaza.

Attorney Joel Sansone, the lawyer representing Vinyard's family, said Vinyard was killed after the plainclothes officer forced him to the ground unprompted, causing him to hit his head.

More:Good Samaritan's death prompts investigation after witnesses say he was forced to ground

“This was not a push; it was a takedown," Sansone said. "The officer apparently put his arm across Mr. Vinyard's chest and threw him to the ground, landing on top of him and bringing his weight down.”

State police are investigating Vinyard’s death, but the officer in question has yet to be publicly identified by investigators or the Center Township Police Department.

“I am disappointed at the lack of comment by Center Township officials,” Sansone said. “No one has offered an apology to this family, no one has said ‘this is what we’re doing to make sure this community is safe’ and no one has said ‘we have taken this officer off duty.’ We think we know who it is, and I’m not naming the individual yet, but I think when we do, we’re going to find this is an officer that has been in a lot of trouble in the past.”

The Center Township Police Department has not commented on the incident, but it released a statement Thursday that read, "The Township of Center and the Center Township Police Department offer our thoughts and prayers to the family of Kenneth Vinyard. This matter is currently being investigated by the Pennsylvania State Police."

“I don’t know how we’re going to make it without him,” said Lisa Sylvis, Vinyard’s youngest sister, through tears.

Vinyard’s sisters, alongside Beatty and Sansone, demanded swift action during a Thursday news conference at a family home in Industry.

Debbie Little, Vinyard’s older sister, said she last saw her brother in July, when she visited from her home in Georgia to join him at Jimmy Buffett’s Star Lake show.

More:Police: Ghost guns found in home of man who died in Center Township police vehicle

“We used to go to these concerts when we lived in Atlanta all the time,” she said. “So I flew out and went with him; he was telling everybody ‘this is my sister; this is the first time we’ve been at a concert in 20 years!’ I’m so glad I got to have that time with him. He was so funny; he was always making me laugh. It’s never going to be the same without him.”

The incident in Center occurred around 6:30 p.m. Sunday after an Aliquippa man allegedly shot another man during an altercation in the parking lot between Walmart and Staples. While Vinyard was in his car waiting for Beatty to leave Walmart, he heard the gunshot and rushed to offer first aid to the victim until first responders arrived.

“According to witnesses, he was in no way belligerent or inappropriate,” Sansone said. “He was simply attempting to render aid…”

As first responders arrived, an unidentified man reportedly asked Vinyard to back away from the scene. The man was not in uniform and did not immediately identify himself as a Center Township officer, Sansone said.

More:Raccoon Twp. police officer named in excessive force lawsuit

“Had he identified himself as an officer, Mr. Vinyard would have certainly complied, because he was a strong supporter of the police,” Sansone said. "The police officer said to him 'back off' or something to that effect. Then he said, 'Backup or I'm going to arrest you,' as he threw him to the ground. So, the first time Mr. Vinyard would have known he was a police officer was as he was being thrown to the ground.”

Vinyard wasn’t in stable enough condition to be airlifted to a Pittsburgh trauma center following the incident. He was instead taken to a Beaver County hospital, where he died shortly after.

Sansone has since ordered an independent autopsy of Vinyard, and although the report is preliminary, “it looks very clearly like the death of Mr. Vinyard was caused by the actions of this off-duty police officer,” Sansone said.

Once the investigation is complete, Sansone plans to take legal action against the officer in federal court for excessive force and civil rights violations.

“We’re not going to take any action until we have all the facts,” he said. “If the facts come out as we understand them, this (officer) should never have a gun, should never have a badge. In fact, he should be in jail. I can tell you this: If it had been the other way around — if Mr. Vinyard had tackled this gentleman — he’d be in jail right now.”

Vinyard's family created a GoFundMe page to support funeral costs, raising more than $17,000 by Thursday evening.

“This family has the right to answers,” Sansone said. “This family has the right to closure and this family has to see justice done for Ken Vinyard.”

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This article originally appeared on Beaver County Times: Family wants answers in death of Ken Vinyard, man allegedly killed at hands of off-duty police officer