A task force made up of community leaders and activists — some of whom have been at the forefront of recent Black Lives Matter protests — will work with Pittsburgh officials to examine and reshape police policies and ultimately put those plans into action.
Mayor Bill Peduto on Wednesday announced the Community Task Force on Police Reform, saying the goal was to have a diverse range of voices and input in the process.
It includes longtime leaders in the black community such as Tim Stevens, chief executive of the Black Political Empowerment Project, as well as emerging leaders and activists like Camille Redman, who organized two protests drawing hundreds to the South Hills earlier this month.
Stevens said that now, of all times, is the moment for change. He pointed to the slew of reform legislation coming from mayors and governors across nationwide — even from the president.
He said he hopes to use his seat at the table to make sure that reform legislation in Pittsburgh is as complete and fair as possible.
“I do believe that these few weeks have shifted America,” Stevens said. “I’m not saying that rhetorically — I mean that.”
But the Fraternal Order of Police Fort Pitt Lodge No. 1, which represents the city police, immediately attacked Peduto’s plan, saying that it appears too early to establish a task force when no one is aware of what legislation or reforms that will be mandated as a result of Congressional hearings.
Fort Pitt Lodge Vice President Patrick L. Knepp said in a statement that acting now would cost the city even more money that Pittsburgh has said it does not have because of the covid-19 pandemic.
The FOP said Peduto has created a task force with “limited or no police experience. “
The task force “appears duplicative, and an unnecessary cost that is borne by the taxpayers of the city.”
It also seems to convey a lack of confidence with community leaders, city council, The Office of Municipal Investigations, Bureau of Police leadership, and the Citizen Police Review Board,” Knepp said in his statement.
Peduto, however, said the diverse voices are “key to making real and sustained change.”
“I’m confident that they will develop people-oriented solutions that make Pittsburgh a better place for all, especially in our black communities,” the mayor said in a statement.
Those named to the committee are:
• Quintin Bullock, president of the Community College of Allegheny County and task force co-chair
• Valerie McDonald Roberts, former elected official, chief of Pittsburgh Bureau of Neighborhood Empowerment and task force co-chair
• Brandi Fisher, president and CEO of the Alliance for Police Accountability
• Sharon Werner, former chief of staff to Attorneys General Eric Holder and Loretta Lynch and chief counsel at PNC Bank
• Richard Garland, assistant professor at the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health and founder of One Vision One Life
• Tim Stevens, chairman and CEO of the Black Political Empowerment Project
• Monica Ruiz, executive director of Casa San Jose
• Amanda Green Hawkins, attorney for the United Steelworkers and former Allegheny County councilwoman
• Patricia Leftwich, community advocate
• Sylvia Fields, executive director of the Eden Hall Foundation
• Bobbi Watt Geer, CEO of the United Way of Southwestern Pennsylvania
• Camille Redman, community advocate
• Tony Beltran, president and CEO of Pittsburgh Mercy
• Alexander Cash, community advocate
• Angela Reynolds, CEO of the YWCA of Greater Pittsburgh
• David Harris, professor of law focusing on police behavior and race at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law
• Nathaniel Yap, community advocate
Staff writer Joe Napsha contributed to this report.
