Police charge Pittsburgh city worker in bug-spray attack on motorist
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Donald Jones of Wilkinsburg was driving his two daughters to school last week when their morning commute turned traumatic.
Watching through their car window, the girls wailed in horror as a Pittsburgh Public Works employee squirted what police said was wasp spray in their father’s eyes during a dispute on the Panther Hollow Bridge near the Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens.
They recorded the confrontation.
Police charged the city employee, Paul Grguras, 65, with two counts of terroristic threats, simple assault, criminal mischief and three counts of summary harassment.
The city suspended him without pay.
On Friday, Jones, 34, told his side of the story, speaking with reporters from his lawyer’s office.
The altercation began around 7 a.m. on Sept. 12 on the bridge in Pittsburgh’s Squirrel Hill neighborhood.
Jones was taking his daughters, ages 11 and 15, to school when he said he honked at a backhoe that was swerving ahead of him.
Grguras, the backhoe operator, stopped the construction vehicle at an angle in the middle of the road, blocking Jones from driving away. Grguras then approached Jones’ car, grabbed the passenger-side mirror and held on, according to a criminal complaint.
Jones tried to pull away, but Grguras wouldn’t let go, the complaint said. Finally, according to police, the mirror broke off, causing more than $800 in damage.
It was then that Jones got out of his car.
Video of the incident, recorded by Jones’ older daughter showed the two men talking near a second Public Works employee in a golf cart. Grguras held a can of something behind his back, which police said was wasp spray.
Suddenly, the video shows, Grguras held the can in front of him and sprayed Jones in the face.
“It was a horrific feeling,” Jones said. “I wouldn’t wish that on nobody.”
He didn’t initially know what he had been sprayed with.
When police arrived, Jones told them what happened. They gave him water to flush his eyes and had him cleared by medics. Officers then spoke with Grguras.
He told them he pulled the backhoe over for Jones to go around him, and that he opened his door only because he couldn’t hear what Jones was saying.
“Grguras stated Donald started to drive backwards, pinned him and ripped his own mirror off,” the complaint said. “Grguras stated [Jones] jumped out of the vehicle and started to swing at him, so he obtained ‘bee spray’ and sprayed Donald in self-defense.”
Grguras also claimed Jones got water bottles from his vehicle and threw them at him, though officers said Grguras had no visible injuries.
When police spoke again to Jones, he denied attempting to hit Grguras and said he threw the water bottle that was in his hand when Grguras sprayed him.
Police on the scene watched the video recorded by Jones’ daughter, and they said it showed Grguras spray Jones “when Donald was posing no threat to Grguras.”
Jones – who operates his own business as a general contractor – has since missed work and said he has suffered blurry vision, especially at night.
He does not have insurance, according to his attorney, Steve Barth. They are exploring potential litigation against Grguras, Barth said.
Jones said a small bump on his right eyelid is the result of the spray.
“I’m extremely worried as far as vision loss,” he said.
Jones is also particularly concerned about his daughters, who became distraught when their father was sprayed.
“That was extremely hard to fend for myself and then watch my children as they acted out hysterically,” he said, adding that he’s seen a change in their attitudes since the incident.
They’ve also been reluctant to go to school.
According to Jones, Grguras also used racial slurs and threatened the children during the course of the altercation.
Police said that Jones’ wife, Raynell Jones, who was on the phone with him at the time of the incident, showed up at the scene a short time after officers. She told them that she could hear Grguras yelling abusive language at their children.
She quoted Grguras as saying, “I’ll break your face you little Black [expletive,]” and “I’ma beat your [expletive],” according to the complaint.
Raynell Jones said she was thankful that the second public works employee worker stepped in.
She met with city leaders, including Public Works Director Chris Hornstein, and showed them the video.
Raynell Jones said officials told her Grguras would no longer be working in a position where he would be dealing with the public.
“They were extremely apologetic regarding the situation,” she said.
According to TribLive archives, Grguras, who began working for public works in 1999, was charged in 2007 with possessing stolen state motor vehicle inspection stickers and illegal firearms.
He had previously been convicted in 1983 of criminal conspiracy and receiving stolen property, which made it illegal for him to have guns.
Phil DiLucente, a lawyer who represents Grguras, said that the 2007 case was dismissed and later expunged.
Barth said he doesn’t fault the city for hiring someone with Grguras’ background.
Still, Barth said, if the city had been aware of potential issues, officials should have placed Grguras in a position where he would not deal directly with the public.
Barth said Jones cannot sue Pittsburgh for negligent supervision because of legal protections that shield the city from responsibility in such cases.
DiLucente said he hopes to get the criminal case against his client resolved at the preliminary hearing.
“We are going to let this play out in the courts,” DiLucente said. “We are very hopeful and somewhat confident it can be resolved.”
Olga George, a spokeswoman for the city, commended the second public works employee for helping to deescalate the conflict between Jones and Grguras. He was not identified in the complaint.
“We offer our apologies to the family who was negatively impacted during their interaction with this worker,” George said. “The Department of Public Works does not condone behavior that places anyone in any form of harm.”
A preliminary hearing for Grguras is scheduled for Oct. 30.