DA drops charges against Springdale man forcefully arrested at council meeting

A Springdale man who was taken to the ground and arrested while criticizing the borough during a public meeting will not face further prosecution. The district attorney’s office withdrew all seven charges against him Wednesday.

William “Danny” Rosenmund was speaking about the borough police department and its agreement to assist ICE during the public comment period of the April 21 meeting when two officers tried to pull him away from the speaker’s podium before his allotted three minutes had expired. He tried to return to the podium, and the officers took him to the ground.

Police charged him with two felony counts of aggravated assault and five misdemeanor charges, including resisting arrest. All of those charges were dropped Wednesday.

“After a thorough review of the evidence, the Commonwealth was unable to proceed,” district attorney spokesperson Rebecca Spangler wrote in an email to Public Source.

Rosenmund said after the charges were dropped that he was relieved but disappointed the process took months.

“It’s been really difficult.” William “Danny” Rosenmund, of Springdale Borough, commented following his hearing outside of district court, Aug. 5, in Harmar Township. (Video by Stephanie Strasburg/Pittsburgh’s Public Source)

“I’ve felt that I was censored for the content of my speech and defamed by the local government that I participated in to elect and put in a position of responsibility,” Rosenmund said. “I feel that that responsibility was not only lapsed but weaponized, and that’s been incredibly painful to deal with.”

Springdale Police Chief Derek Dayoub and Springdale Mayor Joel Anderson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Allegheny County Chief Public Defender Andy Howard, who represented Rosenmund, said in a statement that he is grateful the prosecutors “knew it would have been unethical” to proceed with the charges against Rosenmund.

“They unambiguously made the right call today,” Howard said. “It’s a testament to the critical role that the courts serve in protecting liberty and free speech.”

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Asked if he has any plans to bring a civil lawsuit against the borough, Rosenmund said he is “exploring options.”

Wednesday’s hearing before Magisterial District Judge Michael Girardi was originally scheduled for May, but prosecutors requested a delay after the borough provided surveillance footage of the arrest that contradicted the borough’s initial explanation for the arrest.

Borough leadership released a statement days after the arrest, alleging Rosenmund kept speaking after his three allotted minutes had expired. The video released a month later showed that wasn’t true: Police began restraining him just over two minutes after he started speaking.

Borough officials said Rosenmund spoke for more than the allotted three minutes when he was approached by officers, which the video contradicts. The full-length video can be found on Public Source’s YouTube.

This marks the second time in recent months charges have been brought — and later withdrawn — against critics of Springdale Borough leadership. Police charged Springdale man Ian Hill with terroristic threats and assault for two separate incidents after he posted critically on Facebook about borough leaders; the charges were dropped.

A Public Source investigation into Dayoub, who was present for Rosenmund’s arrest and helped restrain him on the ground, found a record dotted with civil lawsuits, criminal complaints, a protection from abuse order and a firing from another department. 

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After Wednesday’s court proceedings, Howard said Springdale faces “serious challenges” even with Rosenmund’s case concluded.

“The Public Defender’s Office keeps good records and will be watching cases filed out of Springdale with a skeptical eye, as should the entire community,” Howard said.

Charlie Wolfson is the local government reporter for Pittsburgh’s Public Source. He can be reached at charlie@publicsource.org.