PITTSBURGH, June 6 (UPI) -- A University of Pittsburgh police officer has been accused of holding a knife to his son's throat and threatening to cut out his tongue, officials said.
Scott Kercher, 39, of Whitehall, Pa., was ordered to stand trial Tuesday during a hearing for charges of reckless endangerment and endangering the welfare of children, the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reported.
A criminal complaint filed against Kercher by Allegheny County police states on March 25 Kercher put a knife to his 8-year-old son's throat and threatened to cut out his tongue.
"It's certainly alarming that a police officer would do something like this to a child," Lt. Jeffrey Korczyk said.
The boy told investigators his father became angry with him because he would not answer a question, the complaint said. Kercher's daughter, 6, also told investigators her father choked her while she sat on the couch.
Kercher was charged by county police in April.
The children have since been removed from his custody and are now living with their mother, who divorced Kercher in April.
