Ethics board gives conditional green light to Pittsburgh police commanders’ training business

The Pittsburgh police commanders who started a private business that provides anti-bias training can run the company without violating city ethics codes if they follow several guidelines, the city’s Ethics Hearing Board decided Friday.

In a four-page advisory opinion, the board said Cmdrs. Jason Lando and Cristyn Zett can ethically operate DBA Training Solutions — which offers anti-bias training similar to the training the commanders provide for free as part of their city jobs — as long as they meet eight conditions,

including ensuring the private training is “materially different” from the city’s training.

“This was just the confirmation we were hoping to receive that the training we sought to do outside of our role with the city has passed the ethical test,” Cmdr. Lando said Monday. “We’re looking forward to continuing our training, both in our role as city of Pittsburgh trainers and on the business side of things, to deliver this important and much-needed material to anyone who is looking to receive it.”

The commanders joined with Officer Jeffrey Upson in September to create DBA Training Solutions and sell training on implicit bias and procedural justice. The trio also teach such training as part of their police jobs, offering it for free to community organizations.

A spokesman for Mayor Bill Peduto said in January that the mayor and the city’s law and public safety departments believe it is “not permissible for employees to use the training they have gained on city time to provide a private service, and that they are barred from doing so by the Pittsburgh City Code and State Ethics Act.”

On Monday, Mayor Peduto said he would respect the Ethics Hearing Board’s stance.

“I am a supporter of this high-quality training and hope more Pittsburghers can benefit from it, as long as the company follows the guidelines laid out in the advisory opinion from the board,” he said in a statement. “My administration reformed the city’s ethics process, and made the board an independent body, precisely in order to make third-party reviews of complicated situations and make reasoned decisions like this.”

The opinion lays out conditions under which the commanders can keep the business running. The opinion cautions, however, that the board is not a factfinding body and is offering the advisory opinion based solely on the information provided by Cmdr. Lando.

To avoid running afoul of the city’s ethics code, the commanders must avoid doing any work on city time for DBA Training Solutions and must avoid using any city resources or proprietary information for the private business, according to the advisory opinion. They should avoid wearing their uniforms or using their authority as high-ranking police personnel to influence the business, and while on the job for the city they should not treat customers of the private company any differently because they are customers.

Additionally, the commanders should not sell the anti-bias training to any group that could receive the training for free through the police bureau, the opinion states.

“Those were all conditions that we were well aware of before, and that we have been adhering to from the beginning,” Cmdr. Lando said Monday. He previously said DBA Training Solutions will sell the training to corporations, rather than to the community groups or organizations that can receive the free police training.

Cmdr. Lando added that he believes DBA Training Solutions’ course is “materially different” from the city’s training. The advisory opinion does not define “materially different” or offer any advice for how to ensure the private training meets that standard. City officials did not answer questions about whether they’ve vetted the private training to determine if it is “materially different.”

“The content of the slides the videos that we use, the photos we use, the group work, everything essentially everything — if you were to take the class with the city and then take the class with the version we created a few months ago, there is very noticeable difference,” Cmdr. Lando said.

He said he submitted several follow-up questions to the board to ensure he understands the guidelines.

When the concerns within the mayor’s office about DBA Training Solutions first surfaced, Pittsburgh’s official seal — partially cropped — was visible on some testimonials on the company’s website. After the Pittsburgh PostGazette began making inquiries, the testimonials were removed.

Cmdr. Zett did not return a request for comment.