POLICE DRAMA, CONTINUED FROM PG. 10
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who gave them ID?” she asks. “That could affect anybody.” Williams, the former detective, isn’t troubled by the length of the stop: “I think they were really trying to overcome their suspicions,” he says. But he does question some of their other actions. “I think there was a plan to get into the car,” Williams says, citing the tug on the what appears to be a locked passenger-side door and its unlocking by Kosko. “Why they choose to go hands-on at that point is unknown to me.” Bureau policy asserts that “[t]he officer should never reach into the suspect’s vehicle while the engine is running” (emphasis included). Williams says some situations can justify breaking a policy: “It’s not unreasonable for officers to try and take control of the weapon” — particularly when they are within close range. Still, he says, “it is risky for the officers. It’s not something I would condone as my first step for gaining control.” Another concern is the lack of audio from outside the police vehicle. According to bureau policy, at least one officer should have been wearing a microphone that would have recorded any conversation with Ford. But that audio is missing. Officials with the Bureau and the District Attorney’s Office declined to answer questions related to the microphones. It is not known, for example, whether the
officers had previously reported problems with their microphones: A response to a City Paper records request was still pending as of press time. Pittinger says recording is done “for the sake of documenting … the police actions and ensuring unambiguous accountability.” Not having such tape in this case, she adds, “defeated the system of accountability.” All three officers continue to actively patrol while an internal investigation is ongoing, according to O’Connor. Fisher says she is “not comfortable at all” with the officers being back on the street. “Any time a police officer is under investigation, especially for use of deadly force, he should not be working continuously.” A 2010 city ordinance allows for officers to be put on paid administrative leave during an investigation of an officer’s use of force. But such leave is “at the direction of the Chief of Police and the Public Safety Director,” and in any case “shall not be considered a suspension or disciplinary action taken against the officer.” “In the court of public opinion, it probably would be more palatable if they put them on administrative leave until all the questions are answered,” Williams says. “We don’t expect our police to shoot unarmed suspects.” Ford’s arraignment is scheduled for April 24. A B ROW N @ P G HC I T Y PA P E R. C OM
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PITTSBURGH CITY PAPER 03.27/04.03.2013
{BY MATT BORS}
IDIOTBOX