Peduto decries protests outside his home
A protest that started in front of Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto’s Point Breeze house Wednesday night culminated in pushing by police, smoke and at least one arrest after protesters moved to Mellon Park.
Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto earlier on Wednesday had condemned the actions of protesters as “unacceptable” after a handful of demonstrators spent the night outside his Point Breeze house Tuesday evening, and some “harassed” neighbors and blasted siren noises.
“I woke up around 6:30 a.m. [Wednesday] and heard siren sounds going off,” said Jim Niesen, 74, who lives across Hastings Street from Mr. Peduto and has lived in the neighborhood for three decades. “[Protesters] were upset because this is the third time they’ve come here and [Peduto] has not come out to talk to them. This one was specifically triggered by what happened this weekend.”
The demonstrations outside Mr. Peduto’s house have continued since Sunday, a day after plainclothes officers in an unmarked white van arrested Matthew Cartier, 25, during a Black Lives Matter protest in Oakland. Protest leaders called the act a “kidnapping,” but police alleged that the man repeatedly blocked traffic for the protesters, creating hazardous conditions and repeatedly refusing officers’ directions to stop, officials said.
“We definitely support the cause, but we chose not to get in the mix of people protesting because we are older and some of us have underlying health conditions,” Mr. Niesen said.
On Wednesday evening, about 50 protesters gathered again in front of the mayor’s house. Mr. Peduto, who was sitting on his front steps, invited the protest leaders to speak with him. They sat next to him and asked him how he would hold
police accountable, because, they say, police have lied on press releases about their interactions with protesters.
After Mr. Peduto went inside his house at about 9 p.m., protest leaders told the crowd the mayor was “talking in circles.” and they felt they hadn’t been heard.
At about 10:20 p.m., protesters moved from the mayor’s house on Hastings Street to Mellon Park at the intersection of Elysian Street and Fifth Avenue. After reaching Mellon Park, police ordered protesters to get onto the sidewalk. Once protesters were on the sidewalk, police ordered them to move onto the grass into Mellon Park, saying they were obstructing the sidewalk.
Police started pushing protesters with bikes and brought one man, in a green bike helmet, face down onto Fifth Avenue and arrested him.
At about 10:40 p.m., police fired two pops, and a cloud of what appeared to be smoke left protesters coughing and moving away from the smoke.
Around 11 p.m. protesters headed to their cars.
Mr. Cartier’s attorney, Lisa Middleman, said earlier Wednesday she believes the method of Mr. Cartier’s arrest was not unconstitutional. She declined to speak on specifics in the case.
“But the particular facts of the case make the arrest unlawful, and in violation of the rules of criminal procedure,” Ms. Middleman said Wednesday evening. “[Matthew] is very lucky to have the resources to manage the trauma he has experienced. There are so many people who are arrested in a much more violent and physically harmful fashion, and they don’t have the resources to make sure they’re OK. I
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honestly think that’s who Matthew wants people to be concerned about, and that’s why he’s out in the streets protesting.”
In response to Mr. Cartier’s arrest, captured on cellphone video, about 100 people gathered Sunday at Mellon Park to peacefully march and protest in front of Mr. Peduto’s house. Protesters wore black and held signs calling for defunding the police. Protest leaders expressed their frustration with Saturday’s arrest, and many described that day’s protest — a weekly occurrence referred to as “Civil Saturdays” — as peaceful before the arrest.
By Tuesday evening, a handful of protesters who gathered outside Mr. Peduto’s home spent the night and slept outside on air mattresses into Wednesday morning. Some protesters used a megaphone to blast siren noises in the morning. Other protesters also questioned the sincerity of Black Lives Matter signs posted in various neighboring yards, neighbors said.
City police deemed the gathering an “unlawful assembly” and dispersed the small crowd by 9:30 a.m. Wednesday, police said.
Colorful chalk messages supporting the cause also were removed from Hastings Street after 10 a.m.
In a statement earlier on Wednesday, Mr. Peduto said he supports the right to peacefully protest and that he “strongly believe[s] Black Lives Matter, that we are in a historic fight for civil rights in this country.”
“What I cannot defend is any neighborhood in our city — and their residents and families — being disturbed through the night and morning, and a peaceful protest devolving into unacceptable conduct in which residents are being harassed and threatened,” Mr. Peduto said. “This crosses a line that cannot be allowed to continue, causing those committing crimes against residents to face possible legal consequences for their actions.
“Using protests to create conflict and division, as some are doing, only impacts the ability of others to exercise their constitutional rights safely.”
Another neighbor, Emanuela Grama, 44, criticized Mr. Peduto for not talking to protesters.
“Peduto had a second chance to clarify his silence and inaction regarding the kidnapping of an organizer that had occurred a few days ago,” said Ms. Grama, a four-year resident who lives several houses down from Mr. Peduto. “But he chose to do nothing. He did not talk to the protesters nor did he acknowledge their rights to protest on a public street. Instead, he sent out the police and had their messages on the street literally erased.”
“He’s a good guy,” said Mike Kuchera, 49, who lives directly next to the mayor. “[Protesters] wanted to hold [Peduto] accountable for the actions of police, and I get it. But he has worked really hard to provide open spaces and connections with people to express their concerns and avenues for change. I know people are upset, but he is not against them.”
Mr. Peduto acknowledged that “people are feeling fear, pain and anger,” but “I will not accept unjustified actions that threaten neighbors in any part of the city.”