Wilkinsburg borough council suspends three police officers

Wilkinsburg borough council suspended three police officers Wednesday, about a week after another officer was fired.

Two officers received a 10-day suspension and a third received a five-day suspension, council President Patrick Shattuck said. Borough officials refused Friday to identify the officers or say why they were disciplined.

“It’s a personnel matter,” Mr. Shattuck said. “The police department is overseen by the mayor, so he would have any official statement on that.”

Mayor John Thompson and Wilkinsburg police Chief Ophelia “Cookie” Coleman did not return phone calls and emails Friday. No one answered the phone at borough offices.

The suspensions came after an internal investigation by police, city officials said.

Although officials won’t say what prompted this week’s suspensions, the department has a history of officer misconduct.

In 2015, Sgt. John Snyder was fired a month after a Wilkinsburg couple fired a lawsuit alleging that police burst through their

apartment door, guns drawn, without a search warrant.

In 2007, three officers were accused in separate incidents of illegally obtaining oxycodone, making threats against other law enforcement officers and driving under the influence. In 2006, then-Lt. Thomas Proctor was convicted of molesting two women while on duty.

In 2003, former Chief Gerald Brewer was convicted of stealing money being held as evidence and then retaliating against officers who investigated.

The police department, which had 24 full-time officers in March, responds to about 15,000 calls a year.