A man is in stable condition and facing criminal charges after a three-hour police chase Wednesday over a frozen Allegheny River — from Highland Park to Harmar.
Pittsburgh police say they were dispatched at 1 p.m. to the 7100 block of Highland Drive for a report of a person trespassing on the former Veterans Administration hospital site.
Police said once officers were inside the property, they found Gary Cawley, 47, of Pittsburgh, who ran off. According to a criminal complaint obtained by TribLive news partner WTAE, he was messing with an electrical panel, trying to steal materials from it.
Officers tracked Cawley to Allegheny River Boulevard, where he ignored commands from police and repeatedly walked onto the ice on the Allegheny River, police said.
Walking along railroad tracks to monitor Cawley, officers ended up having to tell the railroad company to halt operations until Cawley was taken into custody, according to WTAE.
Though he was headed in the opposite direction, Cawley told police he’d “walk all the way to Mississippi,” according to WTAE.
He also said, “It was only trespassing. I’m not going back to jail. Just send me a citation,” WTAE reported.
An officer eventually stepped onto the ice and blocked Cawley’s path, where he surrendered and was taken to the hospital around 4 p.m., according to WTAE.
But city police said that was in the 2600 block of Freeport Road in Harmar — more than 5 miles from where the pursuit had begun.
Cawley is facing felony charges of burglary and criminal trespassing as well as misdemeanor possession of an instrument of crime, evading arrest on foot, railroad interference and disorderly conduct.
He is still awaiting his preliminary arraignment.
Pittsburgh EMS River Rescue and first responders from along the lower Allegheny Valley were involved in the pursuit as the Cawley walked along the river ice.
EMS took him to an area hospital in stable condition.
