COATESVILLE, PA — A Chester County police officer has been convicted of criminal charges after opening fire on a motorist during a routine traffic stop.
Anthony Sparano, 55, a Coatesville resident and West Caln Township officer, was charged with recklessly endangering another person and “propulsion of missiles into an occupied vehicle.”
The incident occurred in the early morning hours of Nov. 10, 2021, at the intersection of Route 340 and Octorara Trail Road in West Caln.
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Police said Takeisha Landry, who resides in North Carolina, made an illegal turn, and Sparano turned on his lights to pull her over.
Sparano’s body camera recorded their interaction, in which the woman did not comply with his request to give him her driver’s license and registration, investigators said.
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Sparano began to assault her, and that’s when Landry drove away, according to police.
As she drove away, Sparano fired multiple shots at her vehicle. The woman was not hit.
“This case shows that the Chester County DA’s Office and law enforcement are committed to applying the law evenly to all citizens, even police officers,” District Attorney Christopher L. de Barrena-Sarobe said in a statement.
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The court found Sparano not guilty of the charge of simple assault.
Sentencing for Sparano is expected in about one month before Judge Allison Bell Royer.
With reporting from Patch correspondent Holly Herman
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