PITTSBURGH (KDKA) – As many as 17 Pittsburgh police officers face discipline after they’re accused of drinking on the job.
The city isn’t saying much about it, but they confirm they are aware of it and are taking action. Police brass say they can’t discuss “personnel matters,” but acknowledge hearing the allegations KDKA has heard. An investigation is underway.
It was election night, Nov. 3. Extra police were on duty, working long shifts in case trouble erupted.
The allegations are that as many as 17 of the officers took a dinner break on the South Side. As dinner was served, the allegations are that alcoholic beverages were served too.
It’s a troubling revelation for Beth Pittinger, the head of Pittsburgh’s Civilian Review Board.
“The problem is that they were still on the clock, so that means they were still on duty. They had to be prepared, to be ready at a moment’s notice. They were still on duty. But that didn’t seem to matter,” said Pittinger.
But that’s not the only problem. Pittinger says they didn’t follow COVID-19 protocols.
Several members of the Pittsburgh Public Schools board proposed a plan to keep students in virtual learning until after Spring Break, April 6, during a board meeting on Wednesday.
The board said this would postpone the phased-in approach until after the anticipated rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine to employees.
The board will vote on the resolution at its legislative meeting next week, Jan. 27.“No one wants students back in school more than I do,” Board President Sylvia, who brought forward the resolution, said in a news release. “With COVID-19 numbers lingering in the substantial range and the genuine concerns raised by our teachers and staff of returning before the vaccine is available to them, I have to support the tough decision to postpone the return of students for in-person learning.”
This story was originally published by PublicSource, a news partner of NEXTpittsburgh. PublicSource is a nonprofit media organization delivering local journalism at publicsource.org. You can sign up for their newsletters at publicsource.org/newsletters.
The country is on edge after a mob incited by the president overtook the U.S. Capitol last week, resulting in the death of five people and a sense that the security of American democracy is at risk.
The Washington Post reported that right-wing groups are planning additional armed marches leading up to the Jan. 20 inauguration, according to Alethea Group, which analyzes and combats disinformation online. The report by Alethea Group’ showed plans for activity in all 50 state capitals as well as some other cities, including Pittsburgh.
In a Jan. 12 statement, the FBI’s Pittsburgh Field Office said the agency is aware of reports of possible “protests in our area,” and that FBI agents interviewed a “Pittsburgh-based individual” cited in the report. “At this time, we are not aware of any related threats in our region which includes Western Pennsylvania and the State of West Virginia,” the FBI said in the statement.
The national FBI director, according to the New York Times, told a number of police chiefs from around the country in a call Wednesday to be on high alert, even without verified threats, and warned of attacks on government buildings and businesses.
The Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol caught authorities off guard despite being planned on the open internet. Could a fresh round of dangerous conflicts take authorities by surprise?
A new challenge for local authorities
Jillian Snider, an adjunct lecturer at John Jay College of Criminal Justice and a former New York Police Department officer, said last week’s riot in Washington will cause law enforcement across the country to take more precautions than normal.
“I don’t think anyone would have predicted something as vile as what had occurred last week,” Snider said. “I think agencies are definitely going to step it up in terms of making sure they have more than sufficient personnel on scene to try and counteract anything that might be planned.”
The Pittsburgh Department of Public Safety did not answer questions about preparation, and FBI Pittsburgh did not answer questions related to threats beyond its Jan. 12 statement.
In a vote of confidence for the city’s ability to handle any situations that may arise, he referenced the G20 summit held in the city in 2009 and “a number of peaceful protests and walks this summer with very little incidents.”
John Sicilia, the president of the Allegheny County Chiefs of Police Association, said he is not aware of any credible threats in the region. He said federal, state and city law enforcement have been “very transparent” with sharing any intelligence that has come up.
“However, we’re always preparing for that worst-case scenario,” said Sicilia, who is also the chief of police of the Northern Regional Police Department, which serves several municipalities north of Pittsburgh. “Our reaction is always based on the action and how much people escalate a situation. If it’s peaceful protest, we certainly allow that to happen as long as it’s done legally. But once property is being destroyed or people are harmed, we obviously have to escalate our tactics and prevent people from being injured.”
The violent riot that took place in Washington last week was unlike any protest seen in Western Pennsylvania in 2020, or any time in memory. Sicilia said cooperation between agencies will be crucial if similar situations arise in the region.
“I don’t think agencies independently could ever be prepared for something like that,” Sicilia said. “But we have a very unique dynamic in the region here in Western Pennsylvania where law enforcement partners from across the region work together … I think collectively as a group we would have a very good handle on a situation like that.
“But for any one agency, a situation like we saw in Washington, D.C., would be overwhelming. But like I said, as a group, I feel that we would be able to keep the residents of this region safe and the property of this region from being destroyed.”
PITTSBURGH —Pittsburgh police are investigating after a body was found on Pittsburgh’s North Side Friday morning.Officers responded to a report of a body found on Fountain Street near Sandusky Street around 7 a.m.
A medical worker from Allegheny General Hospital saw the body of a woman on the side of the road and began CPR. The attempts to save her life were unsuccessful.
Police say there were no obvious signs of foul play. Pittsburgh Police’s Major Crimes Unit is investigating.
PITTSBURGH —Police said they found a man dead with gunshot wounds Friday night.Investigators responded to reports of gunshots on Stratmore Street around 9:55 p.m.
The man was found shot outside a home.
Medics rushed him to the hospital in critical condition where he died.
Shortly after that shooting, police responded to a two-vehicle crash on Middletown Road at Berry Street not far away.
A man in the first vehicle had gunshot wounds to his torso, and he was rushed to the hospital in critical condition.
Police took the woman driving that first vehicle for questioning.
Witnesses told investigators two men ran away from the vehicle.
The driver of the second vehicle was transported to a local hospital in stable condition.
Emergency sources said the two scenes were related.
Pittsburgh’s Action News 4 is working to learn who the victims in these shootings are, why they were shot, and if police have any suspects.
The show is written and created by Amanda Peet and executive produced by the creators of “Game of Thrones.”
A few lucky local actors who meet very specific qualifications may soon get the opportunity to work on a new Netflix show set to film in the Pittsburgh area.
The Pittsburgh Film Office announced in December that Netflix series “The Chair,” starring Sandra Oh (“Killing Eve” and “Grey’s Anatomy”) and Jay Duplass (“Transparent”), would be filming in the Pittsburgh region in the near future. The show will be written and co-created by Amanda Peet, mostly known for her acting work, and executive produced by “Game of Thrones” creators David Benioff (Ms. Peet’s husband) and D.B. Weiss.
✨???? Set to film in the Pittsburgh region, Sandra Oh stars in the Netflix original series THE CHAIR, from Amanda Peet and Game of Thrones creators David Benioff and D.B. Weiss! https://t.co/iIwcxVvEOF#pghfilm#RATEDPGH#filmedinPittsburgh
PITTSBURGH — The VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System will host walk-in COVID-19 vaccine clinics at the University Drive campus in Oakland.
The events will be held Saturday, Jan. 16 and Monday, Jan. 18 from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
To receive the vaccine, veterans must:
be 75 years of age or older
be eligible for and enrolled in VA health care
receive health care at VA Pittsburgh
If a veteran meets all of the criteria, they are welcome to stop by the campus during the walk-in clinic times.
No appointment is necessary.
If you meet the criteria but are unable to make it to the clinic, please reach out to your primary care team to request an appointment to get the vaccine.
Police are investigating an apparent shooting early Saturday in Pittsburgh’s Allentown neighborhood.
Shortly before 3 a.m., authorities received a ShotSpotter alert of gunshots fired in the 200 block of Estella Street, Pittsburgh Public Safety spokeswoman Cara Cruz said.
Police officers from the city’s Zone 3 station arrived to find “a crime scene but no victim,” Cruz said.
Then, “a short time later,” a nearby hospital treated a male patient who arrived with a gunshot wound to the lower leg.
A vehicle thought to be involved in an armed carjacking crashed and caught fire early Saturday in Pittsburgh’s East End, the city Department of Public Safety said.
Officers had spotted the vehicle and began following it just after 2 a.m., the department said. The carjacking occurred earlier in the evening on Race Street, according to the department.
“When [officers] activated their lights and sirens, the vehicle sped off at a high rate of speed well ahead of the officers,” then crashed at East Liberty Boulevard and Frankstown Avenue, the department said in a statement. The intersection is at the border of East Liberty and Larimer.
Police extinguished flames and extricated the driver and passenger — both men — after the vehicle caught fire, according to the department. Medics took the driver and passenger to a hospital with unknown injuries, the department said.
On Jan. 4, 1988, Sophie Masloff became the first woman to serve as president of Pittsburgh’s city council. Masloff would go on to become one of the most well-liked mayors in the city’s history.
A Wilkinsburg man is charged with attempted homicide and other crimes after police said he tried to shoot another man and narrowly avoided shooting a 3-year-old girl at Harrison’s Sheldon Park public housing complex last week.
Harrison police said after the shooting, Antonio Williams, 20, buckled the girl into a car seat and hid the gun underneath her before driving away.
Williams remained in the Allegheny County Jail Sunday after failing to post $100,000 bond.
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — Pittsburgh Police are investigating after a woman was found deceased outside of an apartment building on Saturday morning.
Officers from Zone 1 responded to a call of an unresponsive female in the 400 block of W. Commons Street in the Allegheny West section of the city just before 8:00 a.m.
When officers arrived at the scene, they discovered a female outside an apartment building.
Detectives with the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police announced Tuesday that they still need the public’s help in finding Terrance Washington, 36, who also goes by the name of Terrence Zeppenfeldt.
Washington is the suspect in the Nov. 10 shooting death of Makeida Thompson, 32, who was an Allegheny County juvenile probation supervisor.
Thompson’s family says Washington was the father of Thompson’s youngest child and the two met at the home of one of Washington’s relatives on Rippey Avenue in East Liberty for a family meeting when he declared that Thompson would not take their child.
Thompson’s mother, Robin Payne, says Washington caused her family enormous grief, “gives the baby to his mother. The mother goes out the room one way, he goes out the other way, and comes up cowardly behind her, without her knowing, and shoots her several times in the back of the head, cowardly,” she says of the shooting incident.
Thompson’s brother, Jeffrey Thompson Jr., says Washington has been in touch with a coworker at a barbershop where he worked and that coworker tried to convince him to turn himself in, “he’s been reaching out constantly trying to get money, trying to convince this person, that if he gets 25-thousand dollars, he has enough to pay for a lawyer.
“Police ask that anyone with information on Washington’s whereabouts should call detectives in the crime unit at 412-861-1845.
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — Pittsburgh Police say they are applying for a warrant to arrest a woman who allegedly fought with officers and medics after refusing to wear a face mask.
According to police, police and EMS had been responding to the woman because she had been attacked by a dog at a residence on the 3300 block of Motor Street.
Police say while they were preparing to transport the woman to the hospital that she would not wear a face mask and “became physically aggressive” with officers and got blood on one of the officers.
The woman still received treatment at a local hospital, according to police, but they will be pursuing a warrant for her arrest.
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) – FBI Pittsburgh took two people in custody in connection with an investigation into the Pagans Motorcycle Club.FBI Pittsburgh asked for help looking for Dominic Quarture and Richard Lee White III on Thursday. Later in the afternoon, both had been apprehended.
It comes after dozens of Pagans Motorcycle Club members and associates were charged with trafficking drugs through western Pennsylvania.U.S. Attorney Scott Brady says the Pagans have used violence to control cocaine, heroin and meth trafficking in Allegheny, Westmoreland, Erie, Fayette and Washington counties. Thirty people were charged in three separate indictments unsealed Tuesday.
Brady says search warrants led to the seizure of 12 firearms, “significant quantities” of drugs and $28,000 in cash and jewelry.
PITTSBURGH —Pittsburgh police are investigating after a man was found shot and lying in the street in Pittsburgh’s Beltzhoover neighborhood.
The incident happened around 2:45 a.m. Tuesday near the intersection of Gearing Avenue and Chalfont Street.
Police initially got a call about a possible hit-and-run, but paramedics who took the man to the hospital discovered he had a gunshot wound to the leg.
Police said the victim also had injuries to his face.
WHITE OAK, Pa. (KDKA) — The White Oak Police Department is asking for the public’s help in identifying two masked individuals.
Police say the two individuals are suspects in an incident that happened around 4:30 a.m. Saturday at the White Oak Mini Mart in the 1500 block of Lincoln Way. Details surrounding the incident were not provided in the department’s Facebook post.
The two suspects fled the Mini Mart in the direction of Auld Street following the incident.
The White Oak Police Department is asking if you any information about the individuals in question that you contact the department or private message them on Facebook.
PITTSBURGH —Wednesday, Mayor Bill Peduto announced that 10% of all City of Pittsburgh employees were quarantining because of COVID-19.”We just wanted to let people know that it is getting to the point where it will affect city services,” Peduto said Thursday.
Last week, the city announced recycling collection would be delayed in the East End due to some members of the Environmental Services Department needing to quarantine.
Staff needed to be shifted around in order to collect.
Pittsburgh’s Action News 4 spoke with Lois DeYoung, a North Side resident who said her recycling collection was late, but she’s not complaining.
“It doesn’t annoy me. I think we all need to worry about more important things right now than our trash pickup being a little late,” DeYoung said.
Peduto said the city has contingency plans if up to 40% of the city workers are sidelined.
How the city makes it work is itself a moving target, since the city can’t predict which departments may need to quarantine or how large a potential outbreak may be.
A woman was injured during a carjacking in Pittsburgh’s South Side neighborhood Thursday.
Pittsburgh police responded to a report of a carjacking on East Carson Street around 9:35 a.m.
The woman said she was pulled out of her parked vehicle by an unknown man. The man then got into the driver’s seat of the vehicle and fled.
Dr. John Talarico is one of the people who helped the woman.
He said, “Got the bleeding stopped, called the police and paramedics and they came and took care of her.”
A man who is too afraid to tell Pittsburgh’s Action News 4 his name or show his face saw the whole thing happen.
He said, “A guy came rushing into the car opened the door. The victim got out of the car with blood all over her face, she apparently had been slashed I waved her to come to me. She hurried over to me we moved over to a safer area.”
He said the two hid outside of a nearby business along Carson Street, then rushed inside of Talarico Chiropractic Clinic.
She suffered minor injuries and was transported to the hospital in stable condition.
Police were able to locate the vehicle near the Baldwin-Whitehall border around 11:15 a.m.
The suspect was taken into custody without incident.
Target is hoping to hit the bullseye with the look of its new Downtown store.
The Minneapolis retailer and its landlord will brief the Pittsburgh planning commission Tuesday on the buildout for the mini Target on the first floor of the former Kaufmann’s/Macy’s department store at the corner of Smithfield Street and Fifth Avenue.
The store occupies a 20,034-square-foot space and will be situated mainly on the Fifth Avenue side of the building, running from Smithfield to Cherry Way, according to materials presented to the commission.
Mark Belko: mbelko@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1262.
From midnight and through the day Tuesday, we will have snow showers leaving many with 1-2″ and areas north of I-80 and along the ridges picking up around 3″ of snow.
(Photo Credit: KDKA Weather Center)
Our highs will struggle to make it to 40 degrees on Tuesday.
For the rest of the week, it’ll be cold with lows in the upper 20’s and highs in the low 40’s.
(Photo Credit: KDKA Weather Center)
Our next round of rain and snow is possible late Thursday and through the day Friday.
PITTSBURGH — Pittsburgh police are investigating two separate robberies that happened at businesses early Friday.
According to investigators, the first incident was around 2 a.m. in North Oakland. Police said a man entered a store in the 100 block of North Craig Street, went behind the counter and smashed the register — stealing less than $100.
He ran from the store, and no one was injured. Officers are looking at surveillance video of the robbery, but no arrests have been made.
About three hours later in Banksville, police said a man went behind the counter at a store in the 2900 block of Banksville Road, grabbed a pair of scissors and demanded the store clerk give him money from the registers.
That man stole an “undetermined amount” of cash before running out of the store, police said.No one was hurt, and there is also surveillance footage being reviewed during the investigation.
These incidents are not related, and no information was released about possible suspects in each case.
PITTSBURGH —Thanksgiving looks a little bit different this year because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Shoppers at Waterworks Market District in Pittsburgh grabbed turkey, cranberry sauce and pumpkin pie filling, but they also got items such as toilet paper and paper towels that are in high demand.Giant Eagle workers said last-minute holiday shoppers, combined with what they call “panic shoppers” because of the COVID-19 pandemic, could create an increase of shoppers in grocery stores.
But they said workers are strictly following Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines, have put safety measures in place such as plexiglass shields, and are using alternate vendors to keep what shoppers need on hand.
“Going into these busy winter months, we were prepared, and we have everything our guests need to feel safe and secure and stocked up in their homes,” Giant Eagle spokesperson Jannah Jablonowski said.
Many people said they are having smaller turkey dinners because they are celebrating with just their immediate family to stop the spread of coronavirus.
“We tried to plan ahead for that. We figured we would get a lot of those smaller sized frozen and fresh turkeys, stock up on those breasts and just make sure we have a lot of options across the store,” said Jablonowski.
Other shoppers are changing the menu altogether.
“Doing something a little different. We’re going to have London broil for Thanksgiving dinner,” shopper Harvey Adams said.
Some shoppers are buying prepared meals for minimal work in the kitchen.
Giant Eagle said that, along with sanitizing carts between uses, the store is also hiring more workers, especially with its curbside service picking up because of the pandemic.
PITTSBURGH —A bicyclist was shot by a driver following an altercation in downtown Pittsburgh on Tuesday afternoon, police confirmed.
Sky 4 video showed markers indicating shell casings on the ground near the corner of Fort Duquesne Boulevard and Seventh Street.
Officers responded to a report of a car crash at about 3:45 p.m. and learned that a shooting had occurred after some sort of dispute between the driver and a man on a bicycle, police spokesman Chris Togneri said.
The car drove onto the sidewalk, where it hit a Port Authority bus shelter, and the driver got out and shot at the bicyclist, who was struck in the leg, Togneri said.
The shooter was being questioned at police headquarters Tuesday evening. The bicyclist was taken to a hospital in stable condition.
The Port Authority tweeted that downtown bus service was being affected as police remained at the scene.
Last week, Mayor William Peduto delivered his proposed 2021 Operating and Capital budgets to City Council, and delivered his annual State of the City address.
The $564 million operating budget does not include tax increases and works to avoid layoffs and furloughs of city personnel.
Due to COVID-19 the city has been forced to spend nearly all of the $120 fund balance the city built up through fiscal discipline the past seven years, and is joining cities nationwide seeking federal aid to help pay for the services and safety provided to residents through the ongoing pandemic.
“We made tough decisions to stop public events, close pools, senior centers and rec centers, but still watched as our coworkers and neighbors lost their livelihoods and too often their lives,” the Mayor said in his budget speech.