Peduto probing leaked Rogers report
Mayor says he is looking into prosecution of officers who released internal document
Mayor Bill Peduto on Thursday said his office sought help from “higher legal authorities” to potentially prosecute city police officers who leaked an internal report on a man who died after being tasered in Bloomfield.
Although he declined to say what agency he was referring to, Mr. Peduto told reporters that he was looking into acquiring investigative help from an agency other than the Allegheny County district attorney’s office.
The DA’s office is currently reviewing whether charges should be filed against the officers involved in the arrest of Jim Rogers, a 54-year-old man who died after police used a stun gun on him multiple times following his alleged theft of a bicycle.
In addition to pending disciplinary action for as many as eight officers involved in Rogers’ arrest, there also could be criminal charges for the personnel involved in leaking the police’s Critical Incident Review Board report to members of the media, Mr. Peduto said, saying those responsible for releasing the document could have hurt the investigation.
“The report itself being distributed is concerning,” Mr. Peduto said. “It could jeopardize the entire case, which could be damning to the family” of Rogers.
Mr. Peduto declined to speak on the content of the report itself, which stated a series of procedural failures by police were to blame for how Rogers’ arrest unfolded.
The mayor said he has not read the internal review yet, and it has not been shared with his office, but he said that the report was likely leaked by city police officers “within an hour or hours” of its completion.
The DA’s office last week said it was still awaiting information from the medical examiner as it weighs whether any of the officers involved will face prosecution. Although he has not made direct comments on the case, DA Stephen A. Zappala said in a statement last
week that he directed investigators in his office to “bring the information surrounding the death of Jim Rogers to a point where I can speak about it to the public.”
Rogers’ death has led to multiple protests critical of the police’s handling of his arrest for what authorities said was the theft of a bicycle on Harriet Street on Oct. 13. Neighbors who spoke to the Post-Gazette after the incident said the bike was placed on the street by someone who no longer wanted it.
Witnesses to the arrest said they saw a police officer use a Taser on Rogers multiple times after he refused to listen to the officer’s commands to put his hands behind his back. He was taken by police to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead the next morning.
Mr. Peduto’s comments on Thursday came at a news conference during which he promoted nine members of the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police.
Among the promotions was Phillip A. Carey, the mayor’s bodyguard, who was moved up from sergeant to assistant chief. Mr. Peduto said Assistant Chief Carey was an example of how he was responding to community criticisms about police conduct, including those that have followed Rogers’ death.
“A person like Sgt. Carey becomes very prevalent in my decision making of having someone in the command staff that I know, personally, has the integrity to be an independent mind and an independent individual … to make sure these types of incidents will always be viewed through the lens of justice,” Mr. Peduto said.
Assistant Chief Carey bypassed the positions of both lieutenant and commander. It also comes after City Council declined Mr. Peduto’s proposal to create a colonel position within the bureau, which would have been below the rank of assistant chief.
The promotion was defended by Mr. Peduto, who said Assistant Chief Carey’s experience in the Army made up for the relative lack of supervisory experience in the police bureau.
He said the decision was not made based on his personal connection to his longtime bodyguard but by looking at Assistant Chief Carey’s full resume and not just his experience with the police.
“I’m willing to take the criticism in order to do the right thing,” Mr. Peduto said. “Throughout this entire city government of 3,500 employees, every department — when you look at a resume, you don’t look at somebody’s experience in that department. You look at their experience throughout their entire career.”
At the ceremony, Ray Rippole was promoted to the rank of commander, and Jeffrey Tagmyer, Walter Dusch, Stephanie LaBella, Keith Miles, Frank Welling, Robert Stroschein and Richard Ruffolo were promoted to sergeant.