Trial Begins For Allentown Police Chief's Son

The son of Allentown police Chief Joel Fitzgerald will stand trial Tuesday for allegedly pointing a loaded handgun at undercover detectives after an incident in August 2014, according to prosecutors.

Christopher Fitzgerald, 23, and attorney Jack McMahon maintain that he did not point the gun, but was just holding it.

Fitzgerald’s girlfriend and infant son were in the car with him in Allentown on August 29, according to reports, while undercover detectives in an unmarked car were driving behind him.

Fitzgerald apparently believed he was being tailgated and stopped the car, according to reports, and came out of it holding a gun.

Undercover detectives, who say they were headed somewhere else for an investigation, thought that Fitzgerald was going to shoot them, according to police.

McMahon maintains that Fitzgerald had no idea the detectives were cops and that he feared for his family’s safety.

Fitzgerald did have a firearms permit, police reports state.

Fitzgerald formerly worked as a corrections officer at Lehigh County Jail but was fired shortly after the incident, the Morning Call reports.