Bethel Park man accused of hitting officer with car had 14 prior DUI convictions

A South Hills man accused of hitting a Bethel Park police officer while driving under the influence of alcohol has 14 prior DUI convictions, court records show.

Richard Caporal, 67, of Bethel Park, is charged with aggravated assault and driving under the influence in connection with the May 3 incident.

Officer Stephen Hozella and another Bethel Park officer were assisting Chief Timothy O’Connor with a traffic stop on South Park Road around 8:40 p.m. when a Ford Escape heading west hit one officer, according to the complaint.

Hozella wrote in the complaint that he ran after the Ford and ordered the driver, later identified as Caporal, to pull over. Caporal complied, and Hozella wrote that “the odor of an alcoholic beverage was emanating from the vehicle.”

Caporal told Hozella that he and other people in the car were coming from work and he’d had one beer, according to the complaint. Hozella said Caporal failed one field sobriety test and would not or could not participate in two others.

At St. Clair Hospital, he refused to consent to a blood draw, according to the complaint. He consented once police obtained a search warrant, police said.

Caporal is charged with two counts each of aggravated assault and driving under the influence and one count each of accidents involving injury, driving with a suspended license, criminal mischief and reckless driving.

He remained in Allegheny County Jail on Monday, unable to post $5,000 bail, according to court records.

Court records show Caporal has 14 prior convictions for driving under the influence dating back to the mid-1970s. Ten were in Allegheny County and two were in Washington County. His sentences for each conviction varied, though most did not result in jail time, according to the records.

Police officials said in the aftermath of the incident that the officer who was struck was treated at the hospital and released to recover at home.