Judge Center Co. ruled that the police were “justified” in striking the driver during the traffic stop

CENTER COUNTY, Pa. (WJAC) — A Center County judge has ruled that state police were “justified” in a controversial stop of a driver on Interstate 80 last year.

This stop raised questions about use of force by the police and its procedures.

This week, Center County Judge Julia Reiter issued a long-awaited ruling on pretrial motions filed on behalf of Derek Raimi.

Raimi, from Tennessee, works as a motorist video center in which he was pulled from his car last December 6 and then repeatedly punched by police officers after they pulled him over on Interstate 80.

Police say Raimi led them on a nearly twenty-minute high-speed chase under the influence of drugs after they first tried to pull him over on I-80 for following another vehicle too closely.

In his lawsuit, Raimi contested the validity of the stop and whether he was forced to consent to a blood test that police said showed a mixture of drugs in his system.

In her ruling, Judge Reiter rejected Raimi’s legal challenge, saying the police had probable cause to stop him and that he had voluntarily consented to a blood test.

The ruling also states that his consent was not due to fear of physical attack.

Judge Reuter noted that the blows inflicted by the PSP were which are called “compliance strikes”.

“Determining that the accused’s consent to blood sampling was voluntary, the court does not condone, ignore or downplay the blows inflicted by soldier Yavorsky.”

Raimi has a pre-trial conference is set for next month in Center County Court.