Man jailed, accused of assaulting two workers at The Meadows Psychiatric Center
A patient at The Meadows Psychiatric Center was arrested Thursday and accused of assaulting two employees, the latest example — one of them said — of why dozens of workers are fighting to unionize.
Thomas Birkl, 28, was accused of punching one employee in the face, knocking her to the ground and striking her two more times in the head, state police at Rockview wrote in an affidavit of probable cause. She was left with swelling and red marks on her forehead.
Mental health technician Autumn Crater was the other worker Birkl was accused of assaulting. He struck her in the back of the head and back once, police wrote.
Crater, who has worked at the psychiatric hospital for about three years, reported a head injury and numbness in her left arm. Both were treated at Mount Nittany Medical Center.
“We’re trying to get the union so we can feel safer and have a voice at work. This just goes to show you why we need something in place. It just keeps happening,” Crater said. “People keep seeing it and they’re not prioritizing our safety.”
Birkl, of Blair County, was charged with two felony counts of aggravated assault, two misdemeanor counts of simple assault and two summary counts of harassment.
A defense lawyer was not listed.
He was arraigned Thursday by District Judge Greg Koehle, who set bail at $10,000. Birkl did not post bail and is detained at the Centre County Correctional Facility.
His preliminary hearing is scheduled for Wednesday.
This story was originally published April 14, 2022 at 5:29 PM.