The Station Square disturbance involved two public officials whose cases followed sharply different paths after their arrests.
PITTSBURGH, Pa. — A 2014 wedding-night brawl at Station Square quickly grew beyond a dispute involving a groom and a server, drawing public scrutiny after police arrested the groom’s brother, an off-duty Pennsylvania state trooper, and a wedding guest serving on a local school board.
The fight followed a Gateway Clipper wedding cruise early Sept. 1, 2014. Police said a pregnant server reported that groom Mark Williams had touched her inappropriately and tried to get her to consume alcohol. After she called her boyfriend to pick her up, police said a confrontation with Williams became physical near the dock. Williams denied wrongdoing involving the server.
David Williams, the groom’s 35-year-old brother, was a Pennsylvania State Police trooper who was off duty during the incident. Pittsburgh police alleged that he ignored orders to stay back and became involved with officers responding to the disturbance. He was initially accused of offenses including aggravated assault, resisting arrest and obstructing law enforcement.
State police placed David Williams on leave as the criminal case and an internal investigation proceeded. The charges against him were later withdrawn, and state police said he could return to work. Court records from a later federal civil rights case show that a state police administrative investigation also reviewed the incident and surveillance video.
The other public official caught up in the disturbance was Brian Taylor, then a member of the Sto-Rox School District Board of Directors. Police said Taylor broke a window on a parked car during the confusion, injuring his hand. He was treated at UPMC Mercy Hospital and arrested along with the Williams brothers.
Taylor did not attend a Sto-Rox school board meeting several days after the arrest. Superintendent Terry DeCarbo said at the time that district officials were consulting their solicitor about what action, if any, could be taken. Taylor remained a board member as the criminal case moved forward.
The prosecutions narrowed quickly. Taylor pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct and criminal mischief. Mark Williams pleaded guilty to public drunkenness and disorderly conduct. The two were ordered to pay fines and costs and to cover restitution connected to damage to the vehicle.
The more serious charges filed after the initial confrontation did not result in convictions. Prosecutors said the case was affected when the server chose not to testify. All charges against David Williams were dropped, and his attorney maintained that the trooper had gone to the scene after learning that his brother was having trouble with police.
David Williams later filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against Pittsburgh police officers, alleging false arrest, false imprisonment and malicious prosecution. Federal court records show the litigation continued into 2016, extending the legal aftermath of a confrontation that began after a wedding cruise and initially resulted in three arrests.
Author note: Last updated Sept. 21, 2026.