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Pig roast is planned at Hummelstown bar to benefit Lisa Mearkle, the Hummelstown officer charged with homicide.

(Facebook)

A Hummelstown tavern is coming under fire for agreeing to host a fundraising pig roast to benefit Lisa Mearkle, the police officer charged in the Feb. 2 shooting death of a South Hanover Township man.

"It's ridiculous. It's a slap in the family's face," said Connie Condran of Hummelstown, one of the commenters on Chick's Hummelstown Tavern's Facebook page regarding the Aug. 2 benefit planned by Hunt for Justice.

"I think it's horrible to even consider it," Condran said, adding she believes the bar will lose business.

Lonnie Blough, owner of the tavern for the past eight years, said he has been a personal friend of Lisa Mearkle for more than 12 years.

The social media comments aren't all negative, with a few posting messages of support on Chick's Facebook page.

"FINALLY, an organization recognizing police officers instead of bashing them! Thank you Chicks, for supporting officer Mearkle!" wrote Melissa O'Brien.

Hunt for Justice's web site says it raises money for law enforcement officers "who have experienced hardships as a result of on-duty related incidents."

Mearkle is listed as a client/cause of Hunt for Justice, along with Darren Wilson, the Ferguson, Mo. officer involved in the 2014 shooting death of Michael Brown. The organization's first client was Chris Hunt, a deputy sheriff in St. Charles, Missouri, who was later exonerated of burglary charges in connection with a 2009 meth lab arrest. Hunt is now a director of the organization.

Hunt said he was contacted by the Fraternal Order of Police in Pennsylvania for assistance in raising funds for Mearkle's defense. He said there may be more events in addition to the pig roast in an effort to raise as much as possible for Mearkle's defense.

"We think it's important that justice cannot be for one side alone. Officer Mearkle deserves a fair trial, and we want to do everything we can to make sure that happens," Hunt said.

Criticism of the event doesn't surprise him. "I'm from the St. Louis area, and we experienced Ferguson," he said.

"We know this is a polarizing issue, and people feel strongly about what they believe in. We feel just as strongly about supporting Officer Mearkle as they feel about the other side," Hunt said.

So far about $600 has been raised on the Justice for David NOW web site, Dale Kassick said. The family is planning a memorial service in Hazleton, where David Kassick will be buried this summer with his parents, Dale said.

The Kassick family's attorney, Christopher Slusser, has said they plan to file a wrongful death suit against various parties involved in the case.

UPDATE: Comments from Chris Hunt were added to this story at 4:13 p.m.