Pittsburgh Police Hold Town Hall Meeting On Downtown Safety
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- Pittsburgh Police, city officials, business owners and the public met for a town hall meeting Wednesday night.
Their main topic: Public safety Downtown.
Police talked about some of the changes they're making and how they need help from the public.
The meeting stems from recent violence Downtown. From fights to a recent stabbing in Market Square and a shooting near 7th and Liberty Avenues right after the Fourth of July fireworks display, hundreds of business owners say this needs to stop.
Community members spoke out about the issues at a town hall meeting at Point Park University.
More than 200 people packed the University Center for an open discussion with police and other city representatives about what to do to put plans in place to make things safer.
One of the suggestions from Pittsburgh Police is having an officer whose beat it is to cover Market Square and other spots where there are issues.
Police patrol the area now, but officers say more can be done to ensure a constant presence, which would include boosting the volume of officers at events.
Assistant Chief of Operations Scott Schubert says one of the things the department has done recently is set up a Special Reaction Team to deal with crowd management issues.
"Whether it's a protest, whether it's large crowds at Point State Park, Market Square, anywhere in the city. It gives us an extra resource of specially trained officers who know what they're doing and can help resolve issues before they happen," Schubert said.
Other options include increasing lighting at some of the key hot spots for trouble, hiring officers to reach out to the homeless, and using improved technology including Downtown cameras to track where police might be needed.
Plus, officers say they're counting on Downtown business leaders to alert them of issues.
"If you think something isn't right and it's ongoing...whether it's a domestic or anything like that," Schubert said. "If it's open container and the person is intoxicated and disorderly or anything like that, absolutely call 911. We will send someone to that call."
Pittsburgh Police Chief Cameron McLay was absent from the meeting. He was in Washington, D.C. for community meetings at the White House.
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