Pittsburgh Council proposes major police reforms during heated meeting

In a bill introduced Tuesday in Pittsburgh City Council, the city would enact a police hiring freeze and redirect $250,000 remaining in a budget for new recruits to a fund aimed at reducing crime and violence.

It was one of several bills from Councilman Ricky Burgess, who said that reform is desperately needed, describing Pittsburgh as one of the “most racist” cities in America.

His Stop the Violence Fund legislation, in addition to the initial $250,000, would require the city to direct an amount equal to 10% of the police budget each year into the fund. The funding would be phased in over six years, starting with 6% of the budget in 2021 and increasing gradually until totaling 10% in 2026.

The budget this year totals $114.8 million.

Burgess also proposed bills that would ban the acquisition of surplus military equipment and weaponry and require police bureau employees to intervene if they witness another employee violating a person’s constitutional rights and immediately report the incident to superiors.

“African Americans are two-and-a-half times more likely to be killed by a police officer than their white counterparts,” he said. “We must implement fundamental police reforms and significantly fund evidence-based violence reduction social service programs. The best way to improve public safety is not just additional police officers, but rather by increasing the community’s confidence in the police.”

It was unclear if Mayor Bill Peduto would support the hiring freeze.

“The administration is committed to working with council on police reform and budget prioritization,” said Peduto spokesman Tim McNulty.

Public Safety Department spokesman Chris Togneri declined comment.

Robert Swartzwelder, president of Fraternal Order of Police Fort Pitt Lodge 1, said the suggested reforms represent a shifting of responsibilities from law enforcement to social service agencies and could have unintended consequences. He noted that police, following the closure of mental institutions and funding cuts for social programs, forced officers to deal daily with such things as homelessness and problems caused by mental illness.

“Now society wants that shifted,” he said. “OK, shift it, but understand you have to operate 24/7 and law enforcement no longer has that mission. When that homeless person is sleeping in that doorway, you’re not going to call law enforcement. You’re going to have people trained for that, social service organizations.”

Councilman Bruce Kraus introduced a bill that would pay a Washington, D.C., consulting firm $25,000 to assess the use of force by city police and produce a report on how to address it.

Burgess called it a “frivolous and somewhat silly piece of legislation,” saying it was unnecessary. That touched off a heated exchange with Kraus that drew a scolding from council President Theresa Kail-Smith.

Burgess later apologized for his “passion.”

“This is the time that the public needs to see us coming together, not playing petty games, not playing political nonsense,” Kail-Smith said. “They need to see us working together, coming up with real solutions.”

Kraus said Citizen Police Review Board Executive Director Beth Pittinger suggested hiring the firm.

“Out of immense respect for her and her abilities that she’s shown over the years, I put forward the legislation that you see before you today,” he said.

At least 11 people, participating in a public comment session during the council meeting, called for major police reforms, ranging from shifting money away from police to an outright disbanding of the police bureau.

Douglas Weaver of Garfield, a Pittsburgh firefighter, called for an immediate restructuring of police operations. He said among other things that the department should stop giving military veterans preference in hiring, prohibit the use of devices such as tear gas and bean bag rounds, and abolish police patrols.

“I have great concerns for the safety of Pittsburgh citizens,” he said. “They are not being served well by the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police. The funding for our police force is out of control and must be cut. The police union should no longer be recognized.”