Youngstown cop pleads not guilty in Austintown incident

March 20, 2014 at 12:06a.m.

By ROBERT CONNELLY

AUSTINTOWN

A Youngstown police officer was arraigned Wednesday in Mahoning County Area Court here on a charge of disorderly conduct stemming from a group fight late Monday.

Ken Bielik, 31, of Youngstown pleaded not guilty to the charge as well as being publicly intoxicated. A pretrial hearing in the county court is set for 6 p.m. May 12.

Bielik’s brother, James, also appeared in court Wednesday on a charge of disorderly conduct and has a pretrial hearing at the same time. He also pleaded not guilty.

Youngstown Police Chief Robin Lees said Ken Bielik’s status is unchanged. He is working his regular duties until his case in Austintown plays out, the chief added.

Township police responded to the Sheetz gas station on Mahoning Avenue and state Route 46 for a report of a group fight. According to a police report, the officer first on the scene saw James Bielik shoving a man against a brick wall twice.

The man told police James Bielik pushed him out of the double doors of Sheetz and into the parking lot after Bielik confronted him. James Bielik told police he thought the man was bothering his sister.

Kristin Bielik told officers an acquaintance was called a name inside Sheetz by an unidentified male, which started the fight.

While officers were talking with witnesses, Ken Bielik kept interrupting them and identified himself as a police officer multiple times.

“I work for YPD. I am a police officer. What are you going to arrest me for?” Ken Bielik said, according to a report. Officers noticed Ken Bielik was “very intoxicated, had bloodshot, glassy eyes, and demonstrated a confrontational/aggressive behavior,” according to the report.

Multiple times Ken Bielik was restrained by his friends after police warned him to walk away or he would be arrested on disorderly-conduct charges.

Bielik persisted in his behavior, and police arrested him on a charge of disorderly conduct and failure to desist. He denied to an officer on scene that he was intoxicated.