Rush Township supervisors and the board's solicitor Chris Reidlinger expressed their displeasure with a recent Times News article about a federal lawsuit between the township's police department and a Mahanoy City woman, Jeanette Hadesty.

Hadesty filed the lawsuit Dec. 5 claiming that Rush Township police officers falsely charged and detained her on a traffic stop at 12:42 p.m. March 5. At that time, Hadesty was charged with possession of schedule 2 and schedule 3 drugs and misbranding of drugs and the charges were withdrawn from magistrate court.The Times News article about the lawsuit ran Dec. 16."Although a court case has indeed been filed, the allegations made in that case are simply that, allegations," Reidlinger said. "Rush Township has only recently been served with the papers relating to this case, and is currently going through the normal process of sending them to its insurance carrier for the appointment of an attorney to handle the matter on the behalf of the police department."By restating large portions of the plaintiff's complaint, Rush Township is concerned that the newspaper article creates an implication in the reading public that these allegations are established fact," he continued. "Rush Township and the Rush Township Police Department plan to vigorously defend this action, and deny that any wrongdoing or inappropriate actions by its officers took place."Rush Township hopes that any decisions made in the township's favor as this case winds its way through the judicial process receive as prominent a Page 1 location in the Times News," he concluded.In her complaint, Hadesty said a Rush Township officer, Adam Sinton, and an unnamed officer initiated the traffic stop without cause, claiming that the exhaust on her vehicle was too loud. The officers called Rush Township Sgt. Duane Frederick to respond. Hadesty's complaint states she was given field sobriety tests "solely to harass and humiliate her." She also said Frederick, who had worked with the late father of her two children, was verbally abusive as well.According to her suit, Hadesty dated a Rush Township officer who passed away in 2008. The officer's name was not given in the suit; during the township meeting Thursday, township officials and Reidlinger declined to name the officer.