The accuser dismissed the complaint against the SB employee; the police video is still private

WILKES-BARRE — The chairwoman of the city’s police advisory committee who filed a complaint accusing an officer of racially profiling her over a traffic stop has allowed a document to be released in support of her case.

Darlene Duggins-Magdalinsky provided a three-page statement along with the union representing Officer Dan Duffy, calling for the police video of the stop to be released to tell the full story of what happened on Aug. 13.

“You’re going to see how it all happened,” Duggins-Magdalinsky said Thursday.

Duggins-Magdalinski, 53, of Hanover Township, claimed Duffy let her in after learning she was a member of a volunteer committee created in 2020 to improve police-community relations and oversee the department. She was issued five traffic citations and is due in court Sept. 7 before District Judge Rick Kronauer in Wilkes-Barre.

The Wilkes-Barre Police Benevolent Association disputed her account, and in a post Wednesday on her Facebook page, Duggins-Magdalinsky allegedly tried to use her committee membership to get out of the traffic stop. The union also demanded that she be removed from the Committee because she was not a resident of the city, as prescribed in the guidelines, and that other cases where she allegedly tried to use her influence as a member of the Committee be investigated.

Until now, Mayor George Brown has been reluctant to release body-worn camera footage of Duffy and other officers who were on the scene.

Brown, along with Police Chief Joseph Coffey and the leadership of the Police Benevolent Association, reviewed the video, which is part of an investigation into a complaint filed Aug. 17 with the police department. The completed investigation report will be provided to the Committee, who will also have the opportunity to review the video to make recommendations to Brown and Coffee on what action to take. Duggins-Magdalinki will not participate in the Committee’s deliberations.