Ellwood City Borough Council voted to accept the resignation of police officer Robert Magnifico during a special public meeting Monday night.
In a unanimous vote, Council determined that, Wednesday, October 8, 2025 will be Magnifico’s last day of employment.
Previously during a regular meeting held on July, 15, 2024, Council accepted his entrance into the Deferred Retirement Option Plan (DROP) with his employment end date at that time being July 15, 2028. According to the terms of the DROP, the participant has the right to terminate employment at an earlier date than planned, which Magnifico enacted with a letter of resignation.
This vote follows a filing of charges including assault, official oppression, and related offenses by Attorney General Dave Sunday, which were announced on Friday.
A press release from the Attorney General’s Office states that Magnifico is charged with misdemeanor counts of simple assault, official oppression, tampering with public records, and unsworn falsification to authorities.
In early June, Magnifico was dispatched to the Sheetz convenience store on 5th Street when a 19-year-old customer engaged in a dispute with Sheetz staff over a phone he forgot while in the store. An employee would not return the phone to the man, and police were called to the store.
A video that went viral online following the incident showed Magnifico pushing the 19-year-old to the ground and yelling at him in the process.
“The encounter, which was captured on video, shows a sworn officer engaged in abusive and intimidating behavior that is clearly out of bounds, and, in fact, a series of criminal acts,” Attorney General Sunday said in the press release. “Pennsylvanians should feel confident they can depend on law enforcement officers to protect them, and this one officer’s actions threaten that sense of security.”
A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Nov. 18.
Previous to the charges filed by the Attorney General, Magnifico was disciplined by the Borough for this incident at Sheetz. In June, Council voted unanimously to demote Sergeant Robert Magnifico to patrolman, ordered him to take classes in de-escalation and anger management (approved by Mayor Anthony Court), and suspended him for ten days without pay.
