Complaint Filed Against Pennsylvania Police Chief Over Vicosa Case

BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- A complaint has been filed against York Area Regional Police Chief Tim Damon over his agency's handling of an emergency protective order it was supposed to serve to Robert Vicosa.

Vicosa, a former Baltimore County police officer, took his estranged wife captive and then kidnapped the couple's daughters, leading police on a multi-state manhunt that ended Nov. 18 when authorities say he fatally shot his daughters and a suspected accomplice before turning the gun on himself.

In a news conference Monday, York County District Attorney Dave Sunday acknowledged the existence of a private criminal complaint against Chief Damon. Sunday did not go into detail about the complaint, saying he had recused himself and forwarded it to the Pennsylvania Attorney General's Office.

"An individual filed a private criminal complaint on Nov. 14 against the chief of police of the York Area Regional Police Department. This private complaint generally concerns the execution of the emergency [protection from abuse] order in this matter," Sunday said.

"Given that I and members of my office have heard material statements concerning these allegations, I have referred the private criminal complaint to the attorney general's office. The attorney general has accepted jurisdiction in this matter and, accordingly, I cannot and will not discuss any further details regarding the private criminal complaint or any specific facts related to these allegations."

According to the York Daily Record, the private complaint is related to an emergency protection from abuse order a Pennsylvania judge issued shortly before 9 p.m. Nov. 14, barring Vicosa from abusing or having contact with his estranged wife or the couple's young daughters. Citing court records, the Daily Record reports police did not serve the emergency protective order.

The newspaper reports Vicosa's wife later obtained a temporary protective the following day, but by the time police went by Vicosa's home to serve it, he and the children were nowhere to be found.

In Pennsylvania, civilians can seek criminal charges against other residents by filling out an application for what's known as a private criminal complaint, according to the York County District Attorney's Office, but only after they've tried reporting the case directly to police. Complaints are then screened by prosecutors to determine whether they should be approved.