An Upper Gwynedd man who went viral in 2015 after taking his kids out of school so they could watch him run the Boston Marathon is in the news again, after pleading guilty to aggravated assault of a police officer during a domestic incident in early 2020.
Michael Rossi, 54, was sentenced to three years’ probation on Friday by Montgomery County Common Pleas Judge Todd Eisenberg, after pleading guilty to one felony count of aggravated assault — attempting to cause bodily injury to designated individuals. Rossi had been scheduled for a bench trial on the same day, but instead entered the guilty plea, according to court records.
Additional charges of aggravated assault, simple assault, resisting arrest, disorderly conduct and harassment were withdrawn, court records show.
According to the complaint, police were dispatched to Rossi’s home in January 2020 for a report of a verbal domestic incident. Upon arrival, police made contact with Rossi, who was described as dismissive and not wanting to talk to police, the report states. As one responding officer spoke with Rossi’s daughter about the incident, Rossi allegedly engaged in a verbal argument with a second officer that was on scene, and repeatedly attempted to physically assert himself over the officer, police said.
Following the conversation with the daughter, the first officer attempted to squeeze past Rossi on the stairwell, at which point Rossi allegedly said “move b---h” and shoulder-checked the officer into the wall, police said. Police then attempted to take Rossi into custody, and a struggle ensued, according to the complaint.
Rossi eventually broke free from the struggle and sat down at the kitchen table, according to the report. When one of the officers approached him, Rossi allegedly struck the officer with an open-palm to the face, knocking the officer backwards, the report states.
The second officer then immediately deployed his taser, subduing Rossi and allowing police to take him into custody, according to the report.
Rossi, who once hosted the 80s television show Dancin’ On Air, gained notoriety in 2015 when he pulled his children out of school so they could watch him run the Boston Marathon. Administrators from his children’s school sent Rossi a letter explaining that the absences would be considered unexcused, triggering Rossi to draw up a rebuttal letter — which he never sent to the school but instead posted to Facebook, where it was shared more than 27,000 times.
In the years since, Rossi became a milkshake duck after his qualifying for the Boston Marathon was called into question. He's also had several run-ins with law enforcement, including an arrest while tailgating a Kenny Chesney concert at Lincoln Financial Field in 2016 and an incident where he was accused of punching a woman at a Tim McGraw concert at the Wells Fargo Center in August 2017.
Rossi was listed among Philadelphia Magazine’s Biggest Losers of 2015, and again in 2016.
When reached for comment, Upper Gwynedd Police Chief David Duffy stated that he was surprised that Rossi avoided jail time as part of his sentence.
“This was an aggressive assault on police officers, captured on camera,” Duffy said. “I am surprised there was no additional incarceration time. Hopefully the sentence imposed will be followed by the defendant.”
See also:
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