President Judge F. P. Kimberly McFadden signed a pair of court orders Monday that prohibit district judges and the county's Domestic Relations Division from assigning any work to Constables Fred Schoenenberger and Richard Seeds.
The orders also require any tasks already assigned to the constables be revoked and passed along to other constables.
Court Administrator Jim Onembo said his office received a letter from Easton police Capt. Carl Scalzo, who said he has received several complaints about the constables.
The complaints allege Schoenenberger and Seeds improperly entered a facility and employed an inappropriate use of force, so the courts have opted not to provide any work to the constables as the matter is investigated, Onembo said.
"We felt at the present time it was in the best interest of the magisterial district courts and domestic relations division to have both of the individuals temporarily removed," Onembo said.Assistant District Attorney Terry Houck confirmed the office is investigating the constables, but declined to go into specifics of the case. He emphasized that although Schoenenberger and Seeds have been pulled from their assignments, they have not been charged with any criminal acts.
"It (the investigation) isn't an indication they did anything wrong," Houck said.Easton Police Inspector Matt Gerould confirmed the department received complaints about the two men, but declined to comment, saying the matter is now in the district attorney's hands.
Several sources with knowledge of the investigation who spoke on the condition on anonymity said some allegations concerned the use of a stun gun. However, the sources said it was not clear if constables' conduct violated accepted protocol, let alone reached the level of criminal acts.
Seeds, a constable for 24 years, said no one had contacted him about why he was barred from work. His calls to the district attorney's office and the Easton Police Department have gone unreturned, and he said he doesn't know why he is being investigated.
"The law says I have a right to work for the people that elected me, but they are preventing me from doing that," he said.
Told the investigation was focused on the use of force and improperly entering a facility, Seeds said he had no idea what officials could be reviewing. He suggested the case is politically motivated because some Easton police officers didn't like the amount of money constables are paid.
"If they have concerns, they should have come to me, and myself and my attorney would have sat down and talked with them," he said.
Schoenenberger could not be reached for comment; a listed phone number for Schoenenberger was disconnected.