Wounded off- duty officer dies
City commander says he’s confident Homewood shooting will be solved
A Pittsburgh police officer died Wednesday, three days after he was shot while off duty during an argument in Homewood.
Officer Calvin Hall, 36, was shot three times about 1: 30 a. m. Sunday in the 7300 block of Monticello Street, police said. He was a twoyear veteran of the Pittsburgh police force and had previously worked as an officer in Braddock and at Point Park University.
“This is a very, very hard day for the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police,” police Chief Scott Schubert said about 5 p. m. Wednesday near the emergency room entrance of UPMC Presbyterian, tears welling in his eyes. “Our hearts go out to the family of Calvin Hall, it goes out to our officers, it goes out to our community because we’re all suffering from what happened.”
Chief Schubert said police were investigating the “strong possibility” that Officer Hall, although offduty, was “acting under the color of law when he was fatally shot.”
As officers gathered at the Oakland hospital where Officer Hall died, and as local and state officials offered condolences to his family, some of his relatives who witnessed the shooting shared new details of the attack with the Pittsburgh Post- Gazette.
Officer Hall had been visiting cousins on Monticello Street the night he was shot, said a cousin, Darnell Coates, and Mr. Coates’ wife, Dawn Royster. Eventually, Officer Hall decided to leave because a party across the street was becoming rowdy, Ms. Royster said.
“Even though he was off- duty, he was still a police officer and he couldn’t be involved,” Ms. Royster said.
Later, Mr. Coates was threatened by someone with a gun, and he said Officer Hall returned to make sure everyone was safe.
“It just weighs heavy on me because he came back to make sure I was all right,” Mr. Coates said, explaining that he’d told his cousin about the gun but didn’t know Officer Hall would return.
Court records show police charged a Homewood man with carrying a stolen gun after Mr. Coates reported the man had pointed a gun at him and his wife. Douglas J. Watson, 44, who left Monticello Street on a
motorcycle, was stopped two blocks away and arrested at 12: 56 a. m., according to an affidavit.
When Officer Hall arrived, Ms. Royster and neighbors were arguing in the middle of the street, Mr. Coates said. As the confrontation got louder, Mr. Coates came out of his house to see what was going on and found a small group of people, including Officer Hall, arguing.
“It just escalated,” Mr. Coates said.
Mr. Coates said he urged Officer Hall to walk away and calm down. The two men and Ms. Royster stepped away from their neighbors, thinking the argument was over.
“We were trying to walk away, and boom, boom, boom, boom,” Mr. Coates said. “And Calvin falls.”
“It was like two minutes of silence and then four or five gunshots,” Ms. Royster said.
“Any of us could have got hit,” Mr. Coates said. “Maybe it was meant for all of us.”
But only Officer Hall was injured, shot three times in the back.
Mr. Coates said he got down on the ground with Officer Hall, who exclaimed that he was shot.
“I was trying to keep him here and awake,” Mr. Coates said.
They believe they know the identity of the shooter and said they hope police find the man and bring charges. Major crimes Cmdr. Victor Joseph said he was confident there would be a resolution to the case.
“We lost a good one,” Mr. Coates said of Officer Hall.
Officer Hall was assigned to the Northview Heights Public Safety Center. Prior to joining the Pittsburgh force, he spent two years as a police officer at Point Park University. He was a patrolman in Braddock in 2015 and 2016.
The mood was subdued Wednesday around UPMC Presby, as rain fell intermittently and officials prepared to move Officer Hall’s body to the Allegheny County medical examiner’s office. City Public Safety Director Wendell Hissrich and highranking members of the Pittsburgh police bureau, as well as rank- and- file officers, went inside to visit with the slain officer’s family.
Chief Schubert said Officer Hall was a man eager to make a difference in his community.
“I can tell you he made a difference with us, he made a difference with the community and he made a difference in his life,” Chief Schubert said.
Cmdr. Christopher Ragland of Zone 1 recalled asking Officer Hall why he he wanted to join the police department when Officer Hall started on the force two years ago.
“Calvin never hesitated. His response was, ‘ I want to make a difference in my community,’” Cmdr. Ragland said.
Sgt. Joe Lewis, who oversaw Officer Hall at the Northview Heights substation, said the officer “exemplified what we are as police officers,” was “a true guardian,” and was a proud member of the Pittsburgh community.
“To be able to only say a few words about such a great man is very difficult,” Sgt. Lewis said.
One of Officer Hall’s friends said the officer was cool- headed, responsible, mature and motivated. He thought carefully about his actions, said Khalia “Kiki” Taylor, 43, of East Liberty, even before he became a police officer. She was surprised to hear he’d been caught up in an argument.
“He would never be in the thick of things where there might be a problem,” she said. “He would always disassociate himself from things like that. And that never changed.”
Ms. Taylor said Officer Hall didn’t enjoy crowds and preferred to connect with people one on one.
Last year, they were in a wedding party together, she said, and walked down the aisle together.
“We were both spazzing out,” she said. “We were both really nervous. We’re like, ‘ Oh my God, everyone is going to be looking at us.’ We’re trying to hold each other up walking. We both thought it was hilarious. We were like, ‘ We can do this, we can do this.’”
She laughed, then paused. “It shouldn’t have ended this way.”
Mayor Bill Peduto ordered all flags at city facilities to fly at half- staff until after Officer Hall’s funeral. Gov. Tom Wolf ordered the same for commonwealth flags on state buildings and grounds until sunset Thursday and on the day of the funeral, which had not been set.
“On behalf of all residents of the City of Pittsburgh I want to express my deepest condolences to the family, friends and coworkers of Officer Hall, a man who was deeply committed to his public service to the community,” Mr. Peduto said in a statement.
“This is a dark day for Pittsburgh, a city that has seen far too many tragedies in recent months,” Mr. Wolf said. “Officer Hall’s family is now facing their very worst fears. I’m calling upon the community to support his loved ones, especially his family, friends, and brothers and sisters who served alongside him with the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police.”
Lt. Gov. John Fetterman, Braddock’s former mayor, praised Officer Hall’s work in that community, saying he was a peacemaker and a “shining example” of communitybased policing.
“This is truly devastating,” Mr. Fetterman said. “He served our community with professionalism, integrity and honesty. He never saw it as ‘ us versus them.’ He always sought to establish relationships with the community and treated everyone with trust, respect and empathy.”
Officer Hall’s death underscores the danger of the job of policing, Mr. Fetterman said, as well as the urgency of confronting the epidemic of gun violence in local communities and the country.
“I understand the sequence of events that led to him getting shot was him looking to intervene and break up a fight,” he said. “That is consistent with the individual and officer he was.”