The department has purchased 50 cameras at about $3,000 each – primarily for bicycle and motorcycle officers.

They are small enough to be mounted on the officer’s glasses or their cap or even their collar. The city already has cruiser camera capability in four of six police zones and is working on adding more.

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And it’s aimed at giving both police and the community a closer look at police encounters that can become controversial.

City Council members who’ve worked closely on public safety legislation say in the long run, more surveillance capability is good for all sides.

Public Safety Chair Theresa Kail-Smith says, “I think it will be a good tool for our police officers to have to substantiate some of the reports that they bring back and to verify that the stories that they’re telling are accurate and maybe give additional information as they’re doing further investigations on a case.”

“What it really does is it protects the officers from false accusations,” says Rev. Ricky Burgess, who represents the Homewood area. “Most of the time this video exonerates the officers, but at the same time I think it really increases community confidence and when you increase community confidence, you also increase public safety.”

KDKA-TV asked the department to show us how it works but the department issued a statement late today saying that policy and training issues have yet to be resolved before the equipment can be demonstrated or utilized.

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A kayaker spotted the body along the shoreline on the city side of the river Thursday.

Crews at the scene tell KDKA’s Ralph Iannotti that it appears the body has been there for some time.

The Allegheny County Medical Examiner has identified the body as 20-year-old Ronnel McGinnis, of Pittsburgh.

The results of an autopsy are pending.

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According to the Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office, 24-year-old Ronald Somerville of Garfield was pronounced dead at the scene.

Emergency officials received the call just after 9:30 p.m.

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Police say they found Somerville lying on the sidewalk in the 5400-block of Broad Street. He had been shot several times.

Investigators say the victim had been standing in the area just before the shooting.

According to police, the suspect approached him on foot and pointed a gun at him. There was a struggle just before the shots were fired.

The suspect is described as a tall, African American male who had on a hooded sweatshirt.

He fled the scene after the shooting. So far, no arrests have been made.

Anyone with information is being asked to contact the Pittsburgh Police Homicide Squad at 412-323-7161.

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A Chinese food delivery driver was robbed at gunpoint shortly before 10 p.m. in the Overbrook section of Pittsburgh.

It happened in the 2200-block of Dartmore Street.

The delivery driver was not hurt.

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Thursday, that system was never utilized in the abduction of Bryce Coleman from Magee Womens Hospital.

Implemented by the state police, an Amber alert requires a request from local police. Signs declaring an Amber Alert abduction have become a common feature of law enforcement since the 1996 abduction and murder of 9-year-old Amber Hagerman in Texas.

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“Time is of the essence. This is an effort to assist law enforcement in finding the child and apprehending the perpetrator, and the sooner it can get out the better,” says Scott Hollander, who heads the child advocacy group Kids Voice.

Hollander says minutes are precious in getting the word out that a child has been stolen. But in the abduction of Coleman from Magee, there was no Amber Alert from state police during the five hours the child was missing.

“When I responded to the scene, that was one of the things I first started working on. I did contact the state police. However, we needed more information,” says Pittsburgh Police Commander Thomas Stangrecki.

He says state protocol requires detailed information that he didn’t have initially in order for the state police to issue an Amber Alert.

“You don’t want to give any misguided information. So you want to make sure it’s accurate and then you contact the state police, review the case with the appropriate people, and then they make that decision,” says Trooper Robin Mungo, spokesperson for the Pennsylvania State Police.

“I have no excuses. We tried very hard to get that information,” says Stangrecki.

Stangrecki takes the blame, but says he really didn’t have the necessary information to meet state police requirements for an Amber Alert.

“Our suspect changed from one person to this Breona Moore. Additionally, we were trying to get pictures and photos and things like that.”

Moreover, city police have to go through the county to get to the state.

“There is certain information that has to be gathered. If that information isn’t gathered then they don’t have the necessary requirements to have that alert issued,” adds Mungo from the State Police.

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Only the state police can issue an Amber alert and that requires specific information about the victim, abductor, vehicle, and direction of travel. Stangrecki says by the time city police had what the state required, the baby and suspect were located.

But in the meantime — about two hours after the abduction — city police issued their own alert — mistakenly calling it an Amber Alert — but enlisting media and public help to find the child.

“The most critical factor is how quickly they can get out and find that person after the child has been abducted,” says Hollander of Kids Voice.

Hollander says police can’t trip over process when it comes to these alerts.

“As soon as that information is available, it should get out.”

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The ACLU filed its suit on behalf of two black men – James Foster and Mike Sharp – who say they were wrongfully passed over when the new recruits were chosen.

Both men say they passed the written and oral exams, but were overlooked when members of the command staff reviewed their applications.

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“When you look at the results, they are discriminatory. There is no way that random chance could ever justify the kind of disparities that we see here,” Vic Walczak said.

Wednesday, Mayor Luke Ravenstahl touted the city’s most recent police recruit class, calling it the most diverse in a decade.

He called the lawsuit “frivolous” and said the city has taken many steps to better recruit and retain minority applicants.

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The theft happened just after 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 4 at the Andy Warhol parking lot at the corner of Sandusky Street and E. General Robinson.

Police say the suspect leaned into the parking attendant’s booth while the worker was assisting another driver and stole the cash.

The attendant didn’t realize the money was gone until his drawer was short at the end of the night.

Detectives ask anyone with information to call them at 412-323-7251.

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The bomb squad determined there was nothing dangerous under a tarp-like covering found in the 5400 block of Ellsworth Avenue.

Police shut down several blocks for about two hours late Monday afternoon.

Late last month, police disrupted a suspicious package near the corner of Ellsworth and Maryland Avenues.

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The Moreno family says all of it thanks to the Pittsburgh Police Department.

“Armed guys with guns and masks come in the house and throw us to the ground and was kicking us and screaming, ‘You think that you’re going to get one of ours and we’re not gonna get you,’” Georgeia Moreno, a plaintiff, said.

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According to a lawsuit filed Wednesday, Georgeia Moreno and her family members were sitting on the couch watching Monday Night Football with a couple of kids upstairs when Pittsburgh SWAT officers entered their Carrick home.

“My youngest son was in the shower and [they] drug him out of the shower with guns pointed at him,” she said.

Inside the home, police immediately grabbed her husband, 39-year-old William Moreno. He was accused of beating an off-duty police officer at a South Side bar, breaking the officer’s skull and leg.

Moreno has an extensive criminal record and was considered armed and dangerous by police. Sources indicate those factors mandated police use the SWAT team and SWAT tactics.

Moreno is in jail convicted of aggravated assault in the beating of the officer. Witnesses say Moreno left the officer unconscious on the floor of the bar.
Attorney Tim O’Brien says that incident does not justify the police actions inside the Moreno home.

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The woman, who did not want to be identified, told KDKA Investigator Marty Griffin that she saw a city officer pistol-whip Anthony Kenney during a traffic stop on the North Side.

She says she could hear the whole thing from her living room.

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“He didn’t have any weapons. He wasn’t violent, he wasn’t belligerent. He just kept begging them to stop hitting him,” she said. “It was closed fists, closed fists and I’d say anywhere between three to five times.”

Shortly after the incident, the FBI came to her home and interviewed her about the incident.

“It was disturbing because it could have been – I have a son,” she said. “You know, what if that would have been my son? It could have been my brother, you know? This is happening way too often.”

Police say they pulled Kenney and his brother over on the North Side at 9 p.m. because he ran a stop sign, didn’t immediately pull over and didn’t exit his car properly.

Also, police say his brother ran from the moving car. He was arrested a short time later in possession of cocaine and was later convicted.

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According to Pittsburgh police, an armed black male robbed the Rite Aid on the 2500-block of Saw Mill Run Boulevard around 9 p.m. Thursday.

The man reportedly entered the store and purchased two items. While the clerk was completing the transaction, the man pulled out a black semi-automatic pistol from his waist and demanded money.

The suspect then took a bag from the counter and put an undisclosed amount of money in it. He then fled the store on foot heading south on Route 51.

A store employee described the man as a black male, 18-25 years old and six-feet tall with a thin build and dark complexion. He was wearing a white polo-type shirt with short sleeves, green/brown camo shorts and a tan safari hat.

No one was injured during the robbery.

Anyone with additional information regarding this incident or who can identify the suspect in the surveillance photo is asked to contact the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police Robbery Squad at (412)-323-7151. Callers may remain anonymous.

Stay With KDKA For The Latest On This Developing Story

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At the hearing Friday morning, the judge decided to reduce Adam Skweres’ bond. He is facing charges of official oppression, criminal coercion, bribery and indecent assault.

Skweres will now be released on his own recognizance – most likely on Monday or Tuesday because of paperwork.

He will be held on electronic monitoring. He will be released once guns are removed from his home.

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Skweres, 35, worked out of the Zone 3 police station. He is facing four separate felony cases and could face federal charges with the possibility of 20 or 30 years in prison.

“I believe they’re false accusations,” Joe Skweres, Adam’s brother, said. “It’s causing a lot of stress on my brother and my family.”

Joe says his brother is a great cop with a great attitude and background.

“Look at his record,” he said. “He spent 12 years in the Army Reserve, five years on the force. He did a tour of duty in Iraq. I mean, this is completely uncharacteristic of him.”

Attorneys representing Skweres plan to pick apart the charges and the cases – three of them several years old.

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“Two of the allegations are from 2008 – 2008 – they’re not filed until 2012,” Phil DiLucente, Skweres’ attorney, said. “And if they truly believed that, I would have thought or had hoped that they would have come forward sooner.”

Skweres said his brother is not capable of such violent acts and calls the alleged victims liars.

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Marty Griffin: “Do you believe that he was ordering women to do these things?”

Skweres: “No.”

Griffin: “Why don’t you believe that?”

Skweres: “Because I know him.”

Griffin: “Are they all lying?”

Skweres: “As far as I can tell, I would assume so.”

Griffin: “And why are they, Joe?”

Skweres: “Because I know my brother.”

Griffin: “Why are they lying? What’s their motive, sir?”

Skweres: “I have no idea behind their motives. I can’t comment behind what they’re thinking.”

Sources tell Marty Griffin there are FBI wiretaps in this case and that they will be used in the prosecution of the case.

There is also a debate about whether the charges will stay as state charges or federal charges.

In the most recent case, the alleged incident happened last Saturday night. It’s apparent in the criminal complaint that Skweres knew he was under investigation.

He asked the alleged victim several times if she was wearing a wiretap. He turned water on in her apartment hoping to cover up any noises and he wrote down his desires for sexual favors on pieces of paper so his voice would not be captured.

Stay with KDKA for all the latest on this developing story.

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Pittsburgh Bureau Of Police Officer Arrested (2/16/12)

Adam Skweres, 35, is a Zone 3 police officer and has been with the force for five years. He faces charges including official oppression, criminal coercion, bribery and indecent assault.

He allegedly told at least three women that he could get either them or their boyfriends out of a jam for sexual favors.

“The behavior of this individual is very disturbing and should not be viewed as a reflection of the conduct of the good and the honorable men and women who serve on the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police,” Pittsburgh Police Chief Nate Harper said.

KDKA’s Ralph Iannotti reports:
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In one incident on the South Side, Skweres was quoted in the criminal complaint saying, “It doesn’t have to be sex. We can do other things.”

The complaint says Skweres told the woman, “If you go to jail, you know what they are going to do to you there. It’s not going to be as bad as what I do to you.”

He worked out of Zone 3 which includes the South Side. On Carson Street, people were both surprised and disappointed.

Bob Frederking, of the North Side, said: “If it’s true, it’s terrible. The cops should not be doing that. I hope it’s not true.”

Janet Curley said: “When it’s one of their own, it’s a really tough situation.”

The investigation is continuing and Chief Harper asked any other potential victims to come forward.

“As I stated, this is very disturbing and at the same time, we’re here to protect and to serve our citizens of this fine city,” Harper said.

Stay with KDKA for the latest developments.

KDKA’s Heather Abraham reports:
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The shooting happened just after 6 p.m. in the 3200-block of Huxley Street Monday.

Police found the 17-year-old victim lying on the sidewalk.

Witnesses gave police a description of the shooter.

A short time later, Pittsburgh police spotted the alleged gunman walking with another man in the area.

Police took both men into custody and charged 18-year-old Tyheem Bey, from Westwood, with aggravated assault and a firearms violation.

He was taken to the Allegheny County Jail.

The 17-year-old victim was last listed in stable condition at Allegheny General Hospital.

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Pittsburgh police say sometime between last Wednesday and Monday morning someone broke into a gated parking area at a senior center on Second Avenue in Hazelwood and vandalized a City of Pittsburgh van.

Someone spray painted “KKK” “666” and swastikas on the inside roof.

A driver used the van to take passengers to the South Side near the Burger King and it was the passengers who urged the driver to call police.

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On the passenger side door, someone had scrawled this message: “At 5pm 2 bobms [sic] will be set off in downtown Pittsburgh. Nothing will stop our hell… Rain fire down apon your souls.”

And yes, whoever wrote it misspelled the words “bombs” and “upon.”

The bomb squad responded with a sweep but didn’t find anything explosive.

Pittsburgh police tell us they are still investigating the case but they don’t believe there’s any real threat from this.

However, if you have any information about this case you’re asked to call Pittsburgh police. You can remain anonymous.

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The pursuit started when a police officer noticed a car parked at an expired meter.

When the officer approached the driver to ask for identification, the man pulled off.

Police arrested the driver, 31-year-old Andre Stroud, of Wilkinsburg, at the corner of Lang Avenue and Upland Street.

A second suspect, possibly a woman who was wearing a white t-shirt, either jumped or was pushed out of the vehicle.

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The mayor of Pittsburgh is outraged by the ticketing of fire trucks.

The trucks were tagged outside City Hall while firefighters were inside getting flu shots.

“We certainly have a lot more important things to worry about than a fire truck that’s parked for five minutes on a city street,” Mayor Luke Ravenstahl, D-Pittsburgh, said.

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The fire trucks were parked in spaces reserved for councilmembers.

Firefighters tell KDKA’s Marty Griffin that City Council President Darlene Harris asked one truck to move and the police officer followed with her ticket book. The council president says she had nothing to do with it.

“It’s really silly,” Ravenstahl said. “And when I was first briefed on it, I didn’t believe that it happened. I couldn’t believe that somebody would actually ticket a fire truck especially when we’re encouraging them to get a flu shot and stay healthy.”

The matter will end up in court with Fire Chief Darryl Jones testifying on behalf of his men.

“This one is on me,” Jones said. “I did send the ticket in for a court hearing date and I will ask the judge for some leniency on this.”

It’s not a criminal matter. It’s a parking ticket. The possible fine is under $100, but there will be a hearing and there will be possible testimony and if the judge rules in favor of the city against the city, someone will have to pay the fine.

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According to our news partners at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the city was notified over the weekend that at least 29 workers from multiple departments were affected.

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The PG reports that the employees received bills from PayPal for purchases that they didn’t make. The fraudulent purchases ranged from $40 to $3,000.

Police say the thief or thieves apparently set up account numbers using employees’ names, addresses and partial Social Security numbers.

The Pittsburgh Bureau of Police Computer Crimes Unit is now investigating.

Meanwhile, city employees are advised to submit a police report if they think they may have been a victim.

Anyone with information on this case is urged to call PBP Computer Crimes Unit at 412-323-7800. Officials say callers may remain anonymous.

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David Hackbart was mad, and he wanted to show it, but he didn’t think he would end up in federal court protecting his right to a rude gesture and demanding that the city of Pittsburgh stop violating the First Amendment rights of its residents.

Hackbart, 34, was looking for a parking space on busy Murray Avenue in the Squirrel Hill neighborhood on April 10, 2006. Spotting one, he attempted to back into it, but the driver of the car behind him refused to back up and give him sufficient room. Hackbart responded in the classic way. “I stuck my hand out the window and gave him the finger to say ‘Hey, jerk, thanks,’ ” says Hackbart. “That’s all I was trying to say — ‘Thanks, thanks a lot.’ “

At that moment, a voice rang out telling Hackbart not to make the rude gesture in public. “So I was like, How dare that person tell me? They obviously didn’t see what happened. Who are they to tell me what to say?” he says. “So I flipped that person off. And then I looked, and it was a city of Pittsburgh cop in his car right next to me.”

That turned out to be police sergeant Brian Elledge, who happened to be passing in the other direction in his cruiser. Elledge whipped around and pulled Hackbart over, citing him under the state’s disorderly-conduct law, which bans obscene language and gestures. And here’s where the problem lies, says state American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) legal director Witold (Vic) Walczak: the middle finger and equivalent swear words are not legally obscene. In fact, courts have consistently ruled that foul language is a constitutionally protected form of expression. A famous 1971 Supreme Court case upheld the right of a young man to enter the Los Angeles County Court House wearing a jacket emblazoned with the words “F___ the Draft.” (Read about how disorderly conduct is often a cop’s call.)

“The law is clear that people have the constitutional right to use profanity, especially when it comes to government officials, because that is a form of political speech,” Walczak says. “But despite that, we have police officers regularly misapplying the law to punish people who offend them — that’s really what it comes down to.” (Read a brief history of disorderly conduct.)

U.S. District Judge David Cercone ruled in March that the citation, along with the $119.75 court costs imposed by a city court, was clearly unconstitutional. The question, however, is whether the city has a pattern of tolerating this kind of constitutional violation. The ACLU says it found 188 cases from 2005 to 2007 in which people were cited under similar circumstances, despite an entry in the police department’s training manual making clear that vulgar speech is not illegal.

The question was set to go to trial in Federal District Court last week, but the matter was delayed at the last moment while the two sides explored a settlement. The city’s law department declined to comment on the case.

The problem is not confined to Pittsburgh. In 2007, a woman in Scranton, Pa., was cited for yelling obscenities at an overflowing toilet in her home — a tirade overheard by her neighbor, an off-duty police officer. She was later acquitted on constitutional grounds, and the city paid her a $19,000 settlement. “We probably handle a dozen of these cases every year,” Walczak says. “We’re actually negotiating with the state police right now, trying to force them to change their training and written materials to make clear you can’t do this.”

It is, of course, part of a larger question. The recent controversy over the arrest of historian Henry Louis Gates Jr. — who was charged with disorderly conduct in his home after police arrived to investigate an erroneous report of a burglary in progress — was cast in racial terms: a white officer distrusting a black homeowner. But Walczak says this issue seems to have more to do with a police officer being confronted by an angry and disrespectful person and turning disorderly-conduct laws into a “contempt of cop” law, as he puts it. “Frankly, I think having someone dropping the F-bomb is better than resisting arrest or taking a swipe at a police officer,” Walczak says. “But what we’re seeing too often is that police who are offended by a lack of respect, often manifested by profanity or cursing, will punish people for that.” (Read Ta-Nehisi Coates on the Henry Louis Gates Jr. affair.)

Elledge and the city police department have consistently refused to comment on the case. But Jim Pasco, executive director of the Fraternal Order of Police, says police officers are not out to systematically punish people who mouth off. “There is certainly no substitute for good judgment on the street,” says Pasco, whose organization represents officers nationwide, including Pittsburgh, “and if in the officer’s judgment, maintenance of order is going to be preserved by giving a citation or making an arrest, then the officer is going to use his judgment to make that arrest or issue that citation.” (See pictures of Henry Louis Gates Jr.)

Officers clearly have varying levels of tolerance for rudeness from the people they encounter, he says, but he expressed little sympathy for anyone making rude remarks to or gestures toward officers. “Police officers have better things to do than give people citations,” he says. “And if people are doing things to distract police officers from doing those things, then they should be held accountable in some way.”

But Hackbart, a paralegal who learned about court rulings on vulgar language in a communications-law class, says police should not be able to punish people by issuing citations they know to be unconstitutional. Elledge “shouldn’t be allowed to conduct himself like that with no repercussions,” he says. “Does everybody have to go through this to defend themselves against a bogus charge?”

Sources indicate nails and screws were forced into the tires on at least a dozen marked and unmarked police cars as well as a number of private cars.

Pittsburgh Bureau of Police sources say at least a dozen police cars and a number of private cars were vandalized.

Sources also confirm police investigators have substantial information to believe the crime was committed by anarchists in town for the G-20 Summit.

Police detectives took photographs and looked for evidence in the parking lot of police headquarters Thursday afternoon.

The damage was done to the cars’ tires.

Sources indicate nails and screws were forced into the tires on at least a dozen marked and unmarked police cars as well as a number of private cars.

Sources indicate it is believed a number of suspected anarchists came to police headquarters late Wednesday night and damaged as many cars as possible.

Police indicate the tires cannot be plugged and must be replaced because the cars have to operate at high speeds.

Damage estimates at this time are running in the thousands of dollars.

Sources indicate the suspected anarchists came to prove to police they can do damage whenever and wherever they want.

There was no official comment regarding the incident.

KDKA’s Marty Griffin has been told the mayor, police chief and public safety director are outraged by the brazen nature of the attack.

There will also be increased security in the parking lot starting Thursday night.

A memorial service will be held on Thursday, April 9, 2009 at an arena located on the University of Pittsburgh campus.  This service will also serve as the funeral for Kelly who will buried immediately after the service.

Private funeral services will be held for both Mayhle and Sciullo.

Somebody killed a policeman today,
and a part of America died.
A piece of our country he swore to protect,
will be buried with him at his side.

The beat that he walked
was a battlefield, too,
just as if he had gone off to war.
Though the flag of our nation
won’t fly at half-mast,
to his name they will add a gold star.

The suspect that shot him
will stand up in court
with counsel demanding his rights.
While a young, widowed mother
must work for her kids,
and spend many long, lonely nights.

Yes, somebody killed a policeman today…
maybe in your town or mine.
While we slept in comfort
behind our locked doors
a cop put his life on the line.

Now his ghost walks the beat
on a dark city street,
and he stands at each new rookie’s side.
He answered the call, of himself he gave all,
and a part of America died.

Ofc. Eric Kelly

Ofc. Stephen Mayhle

Ofc. Paul Sciullo III

PITTSBURGH, PA  -  Three Pittsburgh Bureau of Police Officers were killed on April 4, 2009 while responding to a domestic call in the Stanton Heights area.

Upon approach to the front door the three officers, Ofc. Eric Kelly age 41, Ofc. Stephen Mayhle age 29, and Ofc. Paul Sciullo III age 37 were ambushed and killed.

Two officers, Timothy McManaway and Brian Jones were injured when they responded to help their fellow officers.

The suspect, Richard Poplowski. age 23.  has been charged with three counts of murder.

Funeral arrangements will be posted when completed.