Carson Briere, son of Flyers interim GM Daniel, charged for pushing empty wheelchair down stairs 

The son of Philadelphia Flyers interim general manager Danny Briere has been charged after a video posted on social media showed him and another Mercyhurst University athlete pushing an empty wheelchair down a staircase.

Police in Erie, Pennsylvania, filed charges of criminal mischief, criminal conspiracy to commit mischief and disorderly conduct against Carson Briere, 23, who completed his third hockey season at Mercyhurst. 

Patrick Carrozzi, listed as a senior member of the school’s lacrosse team, faces the same three charges, according to documents filed with District Judge Sue Mack. The two are scheduled to appear in court on May 22.

Briere and Carrozzi are seen on a surveillance video at the top of a staircase of a local bar, where they push the wheelchair down the steps on March 11. 

Police say their actions posed a potential danger to anyone coming up the stairs, while also creating a hazardous condition by blocking the staircase.

Carson Briere (L), the son of Flyers interim GM Danny Briere (R), has been charged by police

Video posted to social media showed Briere (6), who plays at Mercyhurst, and teammate Patrick Carrozzi pushing an empty wheelchair down the stairs at a local bar

The wheelchair’s owner, identified as Sydney Benes, filed a complaint saying the fall down the stairs damaged the left brake handle, broke the right arm rest’s plastic molding, bent a rear handle and caused the wheels to drag when moving forward. Benes said the wheelchair was purchased a year ago, costing $2,000.

It’s unclear if Briere or Carrozzi have lawyers who can speak on their behalf.

Briere and two other athletes were placed on interim suspension, while the school investigated the matter.

A message seeking comment left with a Mercyhurst athletic department spokeswoman was not immediately returned.

Last week, the 23-year-old Briere apologized in a statement released through the NHL’s Flyers.

‘I am deeply sorry for my behavior on Saturday,’ he said. 

‘There is no excuse for my actions, and I will do whatever I can to make up for this serious lack of judgment.’

Sydney Benes, 22, who lost her legs in a 2021 car accident, was using the restroom downstairs at Sullivan’s Irish Pub in Erie, Pennsylvania, on Saturday when she discovered her wheelchair at the bottom of the stairs damaged. ‘All that kept going through my mind was: “God I hope this was an accident, I really hope somebody just accidentally bumped it down the stairs somehow,”‘ she said 

Briere (No. 6) apologized for his behavior last week saying, ‘there is no excuse for my actions’ 

Last week, Benes, 22, who lost her legs in a 2021 car accident, said she was using the restroom downstairs at Sullivan’s Irish Pub when she discovered her wheelchair at the bottom of the stairs damaged. 

She had gone downstairs to the bathroom with the help of a security guard and left her chair at the top. 

‘All that kept going through my mind was: “God I hope this was an accident, I really hope somebody just accidentally bumped it down the stairs somehow,”‘ she told Inside Edition.

‘They were laughing about it. It was really hurtful and disrespectful and just kind of heartbreaking,’ she told Inside Edition. 

‘Carson was told to come apologize to me and the apology was quite insincere,’ she said. 

‘People were saying: “Oh, he’s acting like a child.” No child would throw a wheelchair down a staircase, in my opinion, because they have a heart and morals.’ 

Benes legs were amputated two years ago after she was involved in a car accident and now her vital wheelchair has sustained significant damage. 

‘The brake is bent, so it makes it quite a bit harder to lock,’ she told Inside Edition. ‘The armrest is broken, and we do believe the frame is bent.’ 

A GoFundMe was set up for her, which raised more than $8,000 before being closed. Benes told Inside Edition that she would use the money to replace or repair her chair. Any remaining amount she would donate to other disabled people. 

Sydney (pictured), the disabled woman who had her wheelchair destroyed after the son of a former NHL player pushed it down the stairs

Staff forced Brière to apologize, but Benes said it was insincere. ‘People were saying: “Oh, he’s acting like a child.” No child would throw a wheelchair down a staircase, in my opinion, because they have a heart and morals,’ she said 

‘I’d rather take this and turn it into a learning experience for everybody,’ she told the outlet. ‘I’d rather make people more aware of the stuff disabled people have to go through. We just want a little bit of help, a little bit of understanding.’ 

This comes after she originally said she would declined the $8,000 of cash. 

‘I swear I really don’t wanna keep a cent of the donated money, I’d much rather give it to those who need it,’ she wrote in a tweet on Wednesday. 

In another tweet, she adds that the security staff at Sullivan’s ‘had Carson come apologize but it was very insincere,’ claiming that after he apologized he immediately asked ‘Do I still have to go?’ after being asked to leave the bar.

Danny Briere, who was promoted to run the Flyers after Chuck Fletcher was fired two weeks ago, said he was shocked to see his son’s actions and called them ‘inexcusable,’ while saying his son ‘accepts full responsibility for his behavior.’

Mercyhurst previously released a statement saying the actions displayed in the video fall short of the school’s ‘belief in the inherent dignity of each person,’ adding the school’s ‘tradition also reminds us that students and all people who make poor choices deserve opportunities to learn, change behaviors and atone for harmful actions.’

Carson Briere previously was dismissed from Arizona State’s hockey club in 2019 for what the school called a violation of team rules.