JEANNETTE POLICE OFFICER ARRAINGED ON FALSIFYING REPORTS CHARGES

A Jeannette police officer was arraigned this morning on charges that he falsified reports related to traffic stops.  The Trib reports that 40-year-old Matthew Painter of Penn Township faces 18 misdemeanor counts of tampering with records.  Painter was charged on October 8th after inconsistencies were found in eighteen reports from traffic stops that he allegedly made, but there is no bodycam footage for any of these stops even though they are automatically turned on when the police lights go on.  On a couple of occasions, Painter was on video at the police station when his reports indicated traffic stops were made, according to court papers.   He is free on $1500 bail, with a preliminary hearing set for November 21.