A Monessen police officer was injured when he fell partially through an attic floor during a search in Donora Monday night.
Patrolman Aaron Thompson suffered fractures to two vertebras. Monessen Police Chief John Mandarino said Thompson is expected to be off duty for four to six weeks.
“It's serious enough, but as far as we know he won't need surgery,” Mandarino said.
The accident occurred shortly after 8:30 p.m. at 418 Weiss St.
Donora police said suspected drugs and drug paraphernalia were recovered at the residence but had no further details.
The investigation is ongoing and no charges have been filed as of late Tuesday, Donora police said.
Mandarino said Thompson and K-9 Officer Uri were searching the house when the dog apparently found suspected drugs in the crawl space of the attic.
Thompson was helping other officers with the search when he fell through the attic floor and hit his lower back off of a beam.
Monessen employs 10 full-time and nine part-time officers.
Chris Buckley is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. He can be reached at 724-684-2642 or cbuckley@tribweb.com.
