Pittsburgh Mayor Scolds Police, Firefighters

From The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, May 6

PITTSBURGH, PA – Angered by recent allegations of off-duty misconduct by city police, Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl on Wednesday said that public safety employees should "clean up their act," noting that his administration's efforts to discipline employees are often stymied by state law.

"The increasing trend of firefighters and police officers being involved in unacceptable incidents is really becoming frustrating," the mayor said, when asked about the Monday arrest of police Detective Bradley Walker following a reported road rage incident on Saturday.

They're here "to protect the people of Pittsburgh, and time and time again they're doing the opposite of that," he continued. "It's unacceptable and I have our public safety director looking into ways that we can be aggressive" in disciplining employees who engage in misconduct.

International Association of Firefighters Local 1 President Joe King objected to the mayor's comments, saying his membership has made progress in addressing a rash of incidents last year and early this year that seems to have subsided.

"Who holds the mayor and his team accountable for their off-duty actions?" he asked. "People who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones."

The police union's leadership declined comment.

New details of Detective Walker's past disciplinary history emerged Wednesday. Detective Walker, 43, received a written reprimand and was sent to anger management at least once before, after another motorist accused him of a similar outburst more than a decade ago.

The motorist reported the incident in early 1999 to the Citizen Police Review Board, whose executive director, Elizabeth Pittinger, described it as a confrontation that happened on Route 51 while the detective was off-duty. The motorist said he identified himself as a police officer, ordered her out of the car, accused her of hitting his vehicle and used profanity that frightened her, Ms. Pittinger said.

The complaint never went before a public hearing because the motorist was satisfied with the discipline Detective Walker received. He also was disciplined after a fight with another detective in 2007, and after he was charged with assaulting his wife and son the same year. Those charges were dropped after Detective Walker completed months of counseling sessions through the Women's Center and Shelter of Greater Pittsburgh.

"In this case, we'll consider all of the facts," the mayor said, including "any past incidents."

"We don't want to rush to judgment," he added.

Mr. Ravenstahl said the city is constrained by state law that ultimately puts discipline in the hands of arbitrators.

Police Officer Paul Abel, who shot a man in the hand during an off-duty altercation on the South Side and was suspended in June 2008, returned to his job a year later after an arbitrator ruled in his favor. He works in the city's North Side station. City officials said after the ruling they worried their inability to terminate officers who use excessive force would erode public trust.

"We've disciplined officers. We've disciplined firefighters," Mr. Ravenstahl said. "We've fired them, terminated them. Only to find that they've won their jobs back" in arbitration.

"The police union and fire union need to recognize that this kind of activity cannot continue."

Police Officer Gladys Rowser faces investigation after she was accused of holding a 13-year-old boy while her 18-year-old son punched him. The district attorney's office said Wednesday it is still deciding whether to file charges against her. A half-dozen firefighters have recently faced criminal charges related to alcohol abuse.

"We seem to have a small group of people in both of these bureaus that cause us grief," said Public Safety Director Michael Huss.

Mr. King said his union has been willing to punish its own.

"Our firefighters obviously made a few mistakes, while they were off duty," he said. "And believe me, they were held accountable for that."

Most discipline involving firefighters must be approved by a trial board made up of firefighters. On Friday, a trial board agreed to the termination of John Connors, 53, who was on a last chance agreement following a guilty plea to drug possession. He tested positive for cocaine, according to fire Chief Darryl Jones.

The trial board's agreement to fire Mr. Connors shows "that the integrity of the board left no other choice but to terminate," said Chief Jones. "They did their duty."

Mr. King said that other firefighters have also faced recent discipline approved by either a trial board, or an informal agreement between the administration, the union, and the firefighter.

For instance, firefighter William M. White, who faces criminal charges that he stole a Rivers Casino vehicle and fled from police, lost $12,000 in earnings when a suspension was upheld and was forced to retire following a trial board review, Mr. King said.

"We've been holding our firefighters accountable for years, both on-duty and off-duty," he said.

After a long process that ended in arbitration, the fire union and the administration have agreement on a new drug policy. The city now has the right to subject firefighters to random drug tests. Drug-related discipline won't go before the trial board, but will still be subject to arbitration if the employee disagrees with the punishment.

"Both the union and the city had a desire to do this," said Mr. Huss. "We look at this as a very big step in building confidence in the Fire Bureau."