Pittsburgh Council nixes consultant for review of police actions during protests

Pittsburgh City Council on Tuesday voted down a request by the Citizen Police Review Board to hire a Texas-based company for an independent review of police actions during recent protests.

The review board had requested $25,000 to hire Densus Group to assess police use of force during protests Downtown and in East Liberty between May 30 and June 1 following the death of George Floyd while in Minnesota police custody.

Council approved the funding, but nixed the company.

Beth Pittinger, the board’s executive director, said the decision amounted to council overriding a decision made by a board that was created to investigate police misconduct independently of government. She said it amounted to a “very awkward situation.” The board previously voted to hire Densus Group.

“The board is considering its options,” she said. “It’s awkward because it’s an impediment to the board exercising its independence.”

She said the board needs an independent evaluation to be fair to protesters and police officers. Protesters have said police fired tear gas and rubber bullets at them without provocation.

“What we want to be sure to do is to include a credible, professional look at how law enforcement performed,” Pittinger said.

The request failed by a vote of 4-5 with Council members Deb Gross, Theresa Kail-Smith, Erika Strassburger, Anthony Coghill and Ricky Burgess voting no.

Gross and Kail-Smith previously said they were concerned that the CPRB planned to hire the company without seeking bids. Strassburger last week said she was worried that the contract focused during tight financial times on “a fairly narrow topic in this large, large topic around policing.” Coghill previously said a review of police actions was unnecessary.