Pittsburgh investigating conduct of police officer

Gunshot victim says patrolman glared, wouldn’t provide ID

The city of Pittsburgh is investigating an incident over the weekend in which a man who was shot and paralyzed by police in 2012 said an officer was rude to him.

Cmdr. Eric Holmes said Monday that the Office of Municipal Investigations is looking into the claim by Leon Ford against Officer Paul Jenkins.

Mr. Ford, who won millions in a lawsuit settlement over his shooting by police, said he was rolling his wheelchair Saturday on the North Shore when he encountered Officer Jenkins.

He said on Facebook that he smiled at the officer and asked him, “What’s up?” but got a “hateful glare” in response.

He said he asked the officer what his problem was and said the officer did not respond. When Mr. Ford said he asked the officer for his name, Officer Jenkins said he didn’t have to speak to him and said that “I was only looking for another check,” a reference to the money the city paid to Mr. Ford for the shooting.

Cmdr. Holmes did not name the officer, but the city said it was Officer Jenkins. Officer Jenkins works in Zone 4 and has been on the force since 2005.

Officer Jenkins was moonlighting Saturday, Cmdr. Holmes said, and was wearing a body camera, but the commander said it was unclear whether he had it turned on. He said it also appeared from a video still of the confrontation that the officer did not have his name tag on, which the commander said is a violation of policy.

Cmdr. Holmes said all city officers are “ambassadors” for the city in dealing with the public and try to live up to that standard, but he said he could not comment on the details of the incident.

Officer Jenkins is the brother of Morgan Jenkins, a Pittsburgh police officer who was shot and paralyzed in Homewood in 2013 and now uses a wheelchair.

Torsten Ove: tove@post-gazette.com.