PITTSBURGH — The city of Pittsburgh is reacting to our reporting last night about that potential hiccup in the security plans for the NFL Draft.
>>> Pittsburgh NFL Draft: What you need to know <<<
Some Pittsburgh police officers objected to the league requesting that they sign a liability waiver and provide personal information.
Chief Investigator Rick Earle broke that story Thursday night.
He has since learned that the NFL has agreed to receive very limited information from the officers. They won’t have to provide biometrics or personal data, but when it comes to that liability waiver, there appear to be some sticking points between the city and the NFL.
Pittsburgh police officers set to work near the draft stage at Acrisure Stadium learned just last week they were required to sign a waiver, absolving the NFL of any liability if they’re injured.
On Thursday, 11 Investigates broke the story that some officers refused to sign the waiver.
At a news conference on draft security Friday morning, Public Safety Director Sheldon Williams said it is no longer a requirement for officers to sign that waiver.
“The liability waiver is not incumbent upon our personnel for them to sign at this time,” Williams said.
Sources tell 11 Investigates the city law department had issues with the waiver and they are now reviewing it with NFL attorneys to see if they can reach an agreement.
Some officers had also objected to another NFL requirement: registering for credentials and providing personal information to the league.
“The NFL has to have some information for credentialing and that’s been limited to the picture, a phone number and an email,” Williams said.
Sources say some officers were more agreeable after learning the NFL did not need any other personal information, like security numbers.
While some officers tell 11 Investigates they’re already vetted by the city and their uniforms and badges serve as credentials, the public safety director defended the NFL credential policy while offering a potential scenario.
“We don’t want every and any person who potentially has a badge to say they could be working somewhere and they’re not attached to this. We do have a large contingency helping us, so it’s important to have credentials,” Williams said.
It appears, at this point, that the liability waiver is on hold for now.
Officers must still register and provide a photo and an email address for those draft credentials.
The city says a good many officers have already signed up.
Earlier this week, Chief Investigator Rick Earle spoke with Pennsylvania State Police about how they are contributing to the plan to keep hundreds of thousands of people safe. Click here to read what they told him.
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