An East Pittsburgh police officer stands outside the borough community center during the monthly council meeting on Aug. 21. (Photo by John Altdorfer/PublicSource)
The day homicide charges were filed against police officer Michael Rosfeld for the fatal shooting of Antwon Rose II in East Pittsburgh, Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen Zappala Jr. made a startling statement. Not only did he believe Rosfeld acted criminally, but he also said East Pittsburgh’s police department lacked policies to dictate how Rosfeld should have acted in the crucial moments before he fired at Rose, who was unarmed and fleeing.
Because police have the power to kill, policies on when officers should shoot and when they must abstain are among the most important documents for officers in any department. But as Zappala explained, East Pittsburgh didn’t have policies “for anything, as far as we know.”
PublicSource made an independent request for policies held by the East Pittsburgh police. The department also could not provide PublicSource with any policies guiding use of force, firearms or de-escalation strategies. Our request also inquired about standards of hiring and disciplining officers as well as the process by which residents can lodge complaints. The borough wrote in response to PublicSource’s request that if the policies we requested did exist, it would not release them publicly because of ongoing investigations and litigation.
To understand how East Pittsburgh compares to others in the area, PublicSource requested the same information of several other departments in the Mon Valley, as well as larger nearby departments, such as Monroeville, Penn Hills and Wilkinsburg to provide context. We also sought records of complaints and force incidents since 2013 and called the departments to learn basic information about their size, pay and benefits. While pay impacts a department’s ability to attract and keep experienced officers, treatment of residents hinges not on pay but on training and accountability.
READ MORE AT:
Because police have the power to kill, policies on when officers should shoot and when they must abstain are among the most important documents for officers in any department. But as Zappala explained, East Pittsburgh didn’t have policies “for anything, as far as we know.”
PublicSource made an independent request for policies held by the East Pittsburgh police. The department also could not provide PublicSource with any policies guiding use of force, firearms or de-escalation strategies. Our request also inquired about standards of hiring and disciplining officers as well as the process by which residents can lodge complaints. The borough wrote in response to PublicSource’s request that if the policies we requested did exist, it would not release them publicly because of ongoing investigations and litigation.
To understand how East Pittsburgh compares to others in the area, PublicSource requested the same information of several other departments in the Mon Valley, as well as larger nearby departments, such as Monroeville, Penn Hills and Wilkinsburg to provide context. We also sought records of complaints and force incidents since 2013 and called the departments to learn basic information about their size, pay and benefits. While pay impacts a department’s ability to attract and keep experienced officers, treatment of residents hinges not on pay but on training and accountability.
READ MORE AT:
https://projects.publicsource.org/mon-valley-police-policies-interactive/
About Post Author
