Citizen Police Review Board Looking Into City Officer's Actions
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - A big fight near a downtown T stop created quite a scene, and now an officer involved is being reviewed.
The fight started around 3:30 p.m. on Wednesday along Wood Street. Police had the street blocked off to traffic as they tried to break up the brawl.
At least two people were arrested at the scene near the intersection of Wood Street and Liberty Avenue.
Video surfaced from a City Paper reporter who was using his cellphone to capture the fight and arrests. A police officer approached the reporter and said, "I see you videotaping boy, on your telephone. Get it all, get it all."
The officer was later seen on video telling the crowd to, "Move, move. Videotape all you want, quit causing problems and get out."
The Pittsburgh Citizen Police Review Board is now looking into the officer's actions.
Executive Director Beth Pittinger told the City Paper that, "The conduct demonstrated by the officer on that video was so excruciatingly unbecoming on its own merit that there is really nothing to look into."
She went on to say the officer was probably driven by anger and his demeanor was not a command and control demeanor.
After the officer confronted the reporter and the crowd on the sidewalk, he walked away and slammed his baton on a nearby light pole.
Pittinger said she has sent a note to Police Chief Cameron McLay about the incident.
The officer on the video wasn't the only one to pull out his baton and warn the crowd to stay back.
McLay released a statement about the incident Thursday afternoon, saying, "As a result of complaints received, there will be an investigation into the conduct of Police Bureau members."
He went on to say, "On first examination, the video provided shows no evidence of serious police misconduct. The matter will be investigated by Police Zone 2 command and the Office of Municipal Investigations, to address questions raised about officer conduct."
According to the City Paper, Port Authority spokesman Jim Ritchie said officers caught a suspect tampering with the Wood Street T Station escalator. Ritchie told the City Paper the juvenile fought back and kicked the Port Authority officers.
Several people tried to intervene and that's what started the giant brawl along Wood Street.
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