ELIZABETHVILLE, PA — Pennsylvania State Police were called to a fight in Dauphin County after an encounter involving people recording in public turned physical. Troopers say the confrontation happened around 6:30 p.m. on June 19 on West Main Street in Elizabethville Borough. According to investigators, 21-year-old Trey Davis of Millersburg and 20-year-old Skyler Malkoski of Williamstown were filming people in a public area when another man approached them. The exchange escalated quickly, and several people later became involved.
How The Altercation Started
State police say Logan Scheib, 20, of Halifax, went up to Davis and Malkoski and asked them to delete the recording. Troopers reported that Malkoski then pointed pepper spray at Scheib, who grabbed it, setting off the physical fight. Davis was then accused of punching Scheib during the confrontation. CBS 21 spoke with Davis, who said he and Malkoski were exercising their First Amendment rights while recording and claimed Scheib struck first. The account from police, however, says the dispute began with the request to delete the video and intensified from there.
More People Joined In
After the initial confrontation, the scene grew more chaotic, according to a trooper report. Christopher Zerbe, 21, of Elizabethville, and Devlin Kauffman, 36, of Enola, saw the altercation and rushed over to get involved. Troopers say their presence added to the fight rather than helping to calm it. The report does not describe any weapons beyond the pepper spray that was allegedly aimed at Scheib. It also does not say whether the recording itself was preserved or deleted. What is clear from the police account is that a dispute that started with filming on a borough street spread into a broader scuffle involving several men.
Injuries And Charges Filed
Pennsylvania State Police confirmed that Davis and Malkoski both had visible injuries after the incident. Troopers did not provide further detail on the extent of those injuries. Charges were filed against each of the men involved. Malkoski was charged with simple assault by physical menace. Scheib, Zerbe and Kauffman were each charged with simple assault. Davis was charged with harassment by physical contact. The police report treats the incident as a criminal matter arising from a public confrontation, with investigators sorting out each person’s role in the fight after the fact.
Public Recording Dispute
The case centers on a question that often surfaces in public spaces: what happens when someone objects to being filmed. In this instance, police say the disagreement over recording in Elizabethville Borough moved from words to physical contact in a matter of moments. The source material does not say whether the people who were filming were doing so for news, personal documentation or another reason. It also does not mention any court dates or other next steps. For now, the troopers’ account shows a brief encounter on West Main Street that ended with injuries, multiple assault charges and a separate harassment charge.