Carson Briere will need to serve 15 months probation for pushing a woman’s wheelchair down a set of stairs at a bar.
Editor's Note (Dec. 22, 2023, 2:40 p.m.): Carson Briere was sentenced to 15 months probation in Erie County court, his attorney Chad James Vilushis told NBC10.
At the conclusion of the 15 months, Briere -- if he does everything asked of him by the court -- will have his record expunged, his attorney said.
Carson Briere, the 23-year-old son of Philadelphia Flyers general manager Danny Briere, and his friend have both been officially charged after investigators say they were caught on video pushing a woman's wheelchair down a flight of stairs.
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That incident happened on Saturday, March 11, at Sullivan's Pub and Eatery, a bar near the campus of Mercyhurst University in Erie, Pennsylvania, where the younger Briere plays hockey.
Video of the incident quickly went viral, and shortly after, both Briere and his father issued statements of apology.
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According to court documents, Briere and Patrick Carrozzi -- a fellow student athlete at Mercyhurst University -- were observed on video surveillance tampering with a wheelchair. Briere sat in the wheelchair before Carrozzi positioned the chair near the top of a flight of stairs, police said.
The two then both pushed the wheelchair down the stairs before walking away, according to investigators.
"These actions created a hazardous condition by blocking the staircase as a route of egress and posed a danger to any persons that may have been approaching the bottom of the staircase," the criminal complaint states.
The woman who owned the wheelchair filed a report with police due to damages the incident caused to her property, note court documents. The woman told police the wheelchair's left brake handle no longer functions properly, the plastic molding on the right armrest is broken, the rear handle is slightly bent and the wheels are experiencing drag when moving forward.
Briere and Carrozzi are both charged with criminal mischief, criminal conspiracy to commit criminal mischief and disorderly conduct.
