Two Former SEPTA Police Officers Charged with Assault

April 12, 2018

PHILADELPHIA (April 12, 2018) - Two former SEPTA Transit Police Department officers surrendered to police this morning after being charged in an alleged assault of a man at Frankford Transportation Center on Dec. 12, 2017.

The officers were fired from the SEPTA Transit Police Department early this year, following an Internal Affairs Investigation that included review of station surveillance video and body-worn camera footage.

Per standard operating procedure, Internal Affairs investigates any incident in which an officer claims a person physically resisted them. The officers involved in this incident claimed the man physically resisted, however, the Internal Affairs review found no evidence to support that. Instead, it is alleged that the officers physically attacked the man without provocation while responding to a call of an intoxicated person in the track area.

The charges against the former officers are as follows:

David Simcox, 29: Aggravated Assault, Simple Assault, Recklessly Endangering Another Person and Filing False Reports

Johnathan Lanciano, 29: Simple Assault, Recklessly Endangering Another Person, Filing False Reports and Harassment



The SEPTA Police Internal Affairs review found that the victim was sitting on the edge of the platform with his legs hanging over when officers responded to the scene at approximately 12:32 a.m. on Dec. 12, 2017. The review found that the victim did not strike the officers or make any movements that could have been construed as reaching for a weapon. The victim was not found to be in possession of any weapons.

The review concluded that the officers punched the victim several times, resulting in injuries including a broken nose. The officers were not injured.