Thousands of feet on the street for police reform, but will city deliver?
Several police reform bills are expect to get a vote before City Council next week, and Mayor Bill Peduto’s police reform task force is meeting weekly. Pittsburgh Police says its policies and training are miles ahead of other departments. But Black Lives Matter activists are skeptical that officials are only paying “lip service.”
Defunding police?
Councilman Ricky Burgess introduced numerous legislative proposals to “demilitarize” the police, fund anti-violence programming, require officers to intervene if they see “inappropriate force” and freeze police hiring “until further notice.”
“When people are telling us to defund the police, they don’t understand that the biggest part of the police budget is personnel ... and state law prohibits us from firing them,” Mr. Burgess said. “That’s why my bill on the hiring freeze is so important. The only way to really reduce to the police budget significantly is by reducing the number of officers we have. And the only way ... is by not hiring new officers.”
The city’s police ranks are just over 900, according to the bureau, and each training class of 32 to 38 recruits takes roughly 11 months.
Mr. Burgess’s bill would move $250,000 from the city police recruit allowance to a fund tied to neighborhood anti-violence measures.
City police are against shrinking the ranks. When Wendell Hissrich was hired as public safety director, he said he “was basically hammered by council about there not being enough police officers . ... They wanted community [and] neighborhood resource officers, and I mean for the last four years we have basically asked and pled with city council to give us those officers.”
Having consistent neighborhood officers is a “big achievement,” he said.
Another Burgess bill proposes matching a percentage of the city’s police budget and allocating it to community organizations, which at times may work with the police.
“These bills, some of them, are a continuation of [my] work,” Mr. Burgess said, citing previous group violence intervention, ShotSpotter and required annual reporting legislation. “I believe activists have done us a great favor . ... What I’ve tried to do is take some of their ideas and put them into practical terms.”
Hands tied
Critics of Mr. Burgess’s proposals say the funding amount is “far too low.” They also denounce his “duty to intervene” bill for not defining consequences for officers who fail to do so.
“Here’s what I tell them: If you come up with something legal and workable, then I’ll introduce it,” Mr. Burgess said.
The bureau says it’s “currently reviewing and amending its [use of force] policy to ensure that it incorporates a clear statement related to
a duty to intervene,” according to spokeswoman Cara Cruz.
Chief Scott Schubert said use-of-force reporting is already well established and that the bureau will create a new Office of Strategy, Accountability and Resilience.
“Discipline can be used to help change the behavior,” he said. “... We hold people accountable on the street, we have to hold ourselves accountable inside as well.”
But details of discipline are usually not public, except in high-profile cases like the 2017 federal prison sentence of former officer Stephen Matakovich for beating a 19-year-old during an arrest.
“We’re contractually bound through collective bargaining for what discipline looks like, and when we do terminate people, there’s a strong possibility that an arbitrator will bring them back,” Chief Schubert said.
Mr. Burgess is trying another accountability route: Asking the voters in November if they approve expanding the powers of the Citizen Police Review Board. Council approved the ballot referendum unanimously.
Mr. Peduto, who in June said state law still would likely preempt an expansion of the board’s powers, said Wednesday that he’s reviewing the language with the Law Department before he signs off.
Activists may be “more productive” in directing their energy to state legislators, he said.
He was not available for further comment but said a new office focused on community health will put people “on the streets ... to provide direct assistance to individuals who would otherwise just call 911” in cases of mental crisis, addiction and homelessness.
‘How much longer?’
“Welcome to America’s most livable city, please ignore the invisibles with me,” is the chorus from artist and activist Jasiri X’s 2011 song juxtaposing the accolade with descriptions of the city’s languishing Black neighborhoods.
The following year, 19year-old Leon Ford Jr. was shot and paralyzed by a Pittsburgh police officer who misidentified him. That officer still remains on the force.
Fast forward to 2019, and a now-widely-cited city-commissioned report revealed that Black Pittsburghers would find better health and economic outcomes just by moving to any other comparable U.S. city.
Those findings sit heavy with Jasiri X, one of the leading activists demanding new police reform.
“How much longer do we have to wait? ... How many national stories do we need?” he said, noting a CNN special last Sunday that focused on racism in Pittsburgh.
Jasiri X, whose given name is Jasiri Oronde Smith, joined several others in delivering police reform demands to Mr. Peduto’s office in June. Among them: fire police union president Robert Swartzwelder, who acted with “deliberate malfeasance” during two 2017 officer-involved shooting investigations, a grand jury found.
“Now, we know that Peduto can’t do that,” Jasiri X said. “But what he can say is ‘This man should not be in leadership.’ ... at the very least.”
Jasiri X said he’s tired of the “illusion” of change. “He wants Black people to think he cares, but he really doesn’t govern that way . ... This person gets on this commission, and this person gets on this task force . ... Where’ your political will, Bill? Maybe that will be our new slogan.”
The mayor’s office responded to criticism with a list of nearly 30 initiatives, including establishing affordable housing funding and the Office of Equity.
Hope?
Mr. Peduto’s 17-member task force has set a list to tackle before its September deadline for recommendations, including how to improve officer accountability and how to change the culture among the ranks.
“Things can change,” said David Harris, law enforcement expert at the University of Pittsburgh’s School of Law and task force member. “Even in Pittsburgh.”
A dozen years ago when
Mr. Harris sat on another task force, he said he couldn’t even get his hands on the bureau’s use-of-force policy. Today, it’s posted online.
Federal and state law set a “minimum” for policing standards; local departments can decide to go above and beyond, he said.
“Quite a lot” can be accomplished on the local level, he said. “Any particular police department or city that controls one can make different choices.”
Plus, council can legislate change, he said.
Council’s expected to vote Tuesday on several bills, including Councilman Daniel Lavelle’s chokehold ban.
Neck restraints are already banned by the bureau “unless involved in a deadly force encounter,” according to policy. Such restraints were used five times in 2019, the annual report shows.
Still, Mr. Lavelle said he wants it written into city code, rather than in a policy manual that can change with the next chief.
The Fraternal Order of Police Fort Pitt Lodge 1 did not respond for comment.