Oct 15, 2014 1 min read

A fight last month between two men at a natural gas well site in Fallowfield Township ended with one man receiving a concussion and the other facing charges.

State police said Johnny W. Barber, 62, of DeSoto, Texas, was driving a truck onto the Mamma Bear drill site near Route 917 on Sept. 20 when a worker at the entrance checkpoint questioned him about safety protocols.

Barber told police the other worker, Christopher Brandl, “presented an attitude of superiority that was unwarranted and racially motivated” during the safety questioning and inspection, so he parked his truck and confronted Brandl inside a shed. Police said Barber punched Brandl in the head, threw him to the ground and then put him into a headlock. Barber then allegedly told Brandl “he was not about to be disrespected.”

Brandl suffered a concussion, a strained wrist and broken tooth following the scuffle, police said.

Barber, who is black, told police he confronted Brandl because of his demeanor during the questioning and he felt he was treated differently than other drivers because of his race. Barber was charged Tuesday with simple assault, harassment and disorderly conduct.

The well site is operated by Southpointe-based Rice Energy.