City detective reassigned over photo array incident
A Pittsburgh homicide detective has been temporarily moved to the warrant office after she gave inaccurate information about how she administered a photo array in a case that went before a grand jury, sources said.
Detective Peg Sherwood, who has worked on such high-profile cases as the slaying of an armored truck employee in 2012 in the Strip District and the killing of the Wolfe sisters in 2014 in East Liberty, reported that fellow homicide Detective Edward Fallert was present when a photo array was administered in a case. However, Detective Fallert was not there, sources said.
It’s unclear what occurred after the witness was shown the array of photos.
Pittsburgh public safety spokeswoman Sonya Toler said she was “prohibited from discussing personnel matters with the media,” but she did confirm that Detective Sherwood had been “temporarily assigned to the warrant office.”
Police Chief Cameron McLay said he could not currently discuss Detective Sherwood’s case.
Attorney Patrick Thomassey, who represents Detective Sherwood, said he believed she was the subject of a “witch hunt.”
“It’s not a major mistake that would cripple any kind of investigation or cripple any kind of case from a prosecutor’s point of view. Police make mistakes in typing reports, and I think that’s all this was,” Mr. Thomassey said.
He said he was told that Detective Fallert put together the photo array and Detective Sherwood showed it to a witness, making her statement “almost like a typo.”
Mr. Thomassey noted that as a defense attorney he had encountered Detective Sherwood, a 25year veteran of the force, during criminal cases when she testified for the prosecution. “She’s a straight shooter. She’s argumentative and gives us a lot of crap, but I don’t think anyone could say that she doesn’t have integrity.”
Pittsburgh police policy generally requires detectives to administer “blind” photo arrays, in which an officer not directly investigating a case shows a witness photos of potential suspects. Exceptions can be made with the
permission of a supervisor. The policy was put in place at the urging of the Allegheny County district attorney to minimize accusations of bias.
The homicide unit has come under scrutiny recently for its lower-than-average clearance rate. At the end of last year, it had solved less than half of the city’s homicides.
Elizabeth Pittinger, executive director of the Citizen Police Review Board, said she is aware of pressure on detectives to boost their clearance rates.
“There’s also pressure internally to change the culture,” she said. “The expectation is there would be impeccable integrity within the detective units — particularly in major crimes/homicide.”
Allegations like these can bring prior cases under scrutiny, Ms. Pittinger said.
“It could lead to the overturning of convictions, and that can lead to an all new public safety problem.”
Allegheny County district attorney Stephen A. Zappala Jr. said he could not discuss Detective Sherwood’s case specifically.
Hypothetically, he said, if his office learns of concerns regarding an officer’s truthfulness or credibility, it will review every case the officer worked on “where their credibility was a significant issue in the case.”
Issues such as officer credibility can factor in to post-conviction appeals.