In a memorandum opinion filed January 9, 2026, a three-judge panel — Judge Michael H. Wojcik, Judge Matthew S. Wolf, and Senior Judge Bonnie Brigance Leadbetter — ruled in the case Minersville Borough v. Minersville Police Officers’ Association (No. 1215 C.D. 2023). The matter had been submitted to the court on August 8, 2025.
At issue was the termination of Officer Harry Brown, who was fired by Minersville Borough in March 2022 following an internal investigation into a February 2, 2022 arrest of David Plappert during a traffic stop.
According to the court’s opinion, the arrest involved allegations of excessive force, including repeated strikes, pepper spray, and multiple TASER deployments. Plappert was later flown to a hospital for treatment. The opinion notes the criminal charges against Plappert were later dropped.
Following the incident, Police Chief Michael Combs conducted a use-of-force investigation and recommended Brown’s termination for “neglect or violation of official duty and conduct unbecoming of an officer.” Minersville Borough Council accepted the recommendation and terminated Brown on March 8, 2022.
The police union pursued the matter through binding grievance arbitration, where arbitrator Larry Cheskawich was asked to decide whether “just cause” existed to terminate Brown and, if not, what the remedy should be.
In an arbitration award dated December 28, 2022, the arbitrator concluded the borough lacked just cause to terminate Brown. While the arbitrator found Brown’s report was not truthful in light of video evidence, the arbitrator also cited Brown’s otherwise clean disciplinary record and issues surrounding training documentation. The award expunged the termination, replaced it with a long-term disciplinary suspension without pay from March 8 to December 28, 2022, and ordered Brown’s reinstatement under a one-year Last-Chance Agreement, along with additional training in defensive tactics and use-of-force policies.
The borough filed a petition to vacate the award in Schuylkill County Court. On July 7, 2023, the Court of Common Pleas vacated the arbitration award, largely relying on the doctrine of collateral estoppel tied to a parallel workers’ compensation case.
The Commonwealth Court rejected that reasoning.
The appellate panel concluded the trial court improperly applied collateral estoppel “retroactively,” noting the arbitration award was issued before the workers’ compensation judge’s decision. The Commonwealth Court also determined the workers’ compensation ruling did not nullify the arbitration decision, and it emphasized the finality and purpose of Act 111 arbitration in police labor disputes.
The court also addressed the borough’s claim that its due process rights were violated after the arbitrator sustained the union’s objection to forcing Brown to testify while related investigations were pending. The Commonwealth Court found the arbitrator’s evidentiary ruling did not prevent the borough from presenting its case and did not rise to a constitutional due process violation under the narrow scope of review in Act 111 arbitration appeals.
The Commonwealth Court’s order states the July 7, 2023 Order of the Schuylkill County Court of Common Pleas is reversed and the matter is remanded for reinstatement of the arbitrator’s award, with jurisdiction then relinquished.
The court’s decision applies only to the employment and arbitration dispute — it does not dismiss or impact any separate criminal matter, including any federal charges involving Brown. The ruling strictly addresses whether Minersville Borough had just cause to fire him and whether the arbitration award should stand.