New Hope To Pay $750K To Man Who Officer Shot In Holding Cell

NEW HOPE, PA — New Hope will pay $750,000 to a man shot by a borough police officer in 2019, according to multiple reports.

In October, the borough settled a federal lawsuit filed by 41-year-old Brian Riling of Pipersville, who was shot in a holding cell on March 3, 2019 by now-retired police officer Matthew Zimmerman.

According to the lawsuit, Riling had been brought to the police department on a warrant and found to be unarmed. He was in a holding cell and, while removing his belt, moved to pick up a "small rectangular white object" that had fallen to the ground, at which point an officer pushed him backward and then put him into a chokehold, the lawsuit detailed.

Zimmerman yelled, "Taser!" according to the lawsuit, before shooting Riling with his gun.

The Philadelphia Inquirer said police at the time believed the object to be a baggie possibly containing drug paraphernalia. Riling was in custody on intimidation charges after authorities said he assaulted and stalked his ex-girlfriend, for which he would later be sentenced to 23 months in county jail.

"At the time defendant Zimmerman shot Mr. Riling, Mr. Riling was unarmed, he had not assaulted any police officer, nor had he made any threatening moves towards any police officer," the lawsuit reads.

Riling sued both Zimmerman and the borough, alleging that New Hope failed to properly train police officers on use of Tasers and that Zimmerman failed to observe general police best practices by bringing his gun into a holding cell.

In one key point of evidence, the lawsuit said Zimmerman was carrying his taser on the dominant side of his body, the same side on which he carried his firearm — in violation of New Hope Police Department policy at the time.

While Bucks County District Attorney Matthew Weintraub said the shooting was "unjustified," he also ruled it "excused." Mayor Laurence D. Keller said that the situation was "human error," according to the Inquirer. Zimmerman quietly retired from the department two days before the DA's announcement in April of 2019.

Riling can no longer play sports with his daughters as a recreational basketball coach and has more limited capacity in his vocation as a carpenter now, according to the suit.

The lawsuit said he was hospitalized for about two weeks, underwent multiple surgeries, suffered a fractured bone in his pelvis area, and still has bullet fragments lodged in his right iliac.

According to the Bucks County Herald, the settlement is one of the largest payouts the borough has made in recent years to settle an officer-involved shooting lawsuit.

Mayor Keller also said in a borough meeting last month that police department accreditation is moving towards completion.

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