PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh police officer who was involved in the police chase that led to a crash that injured nine people last year was in another crash while responding to a call on Thursday.
Sources tell 11 Investigates that the detective, in an unmarked car, was heading to a traffic stop to assist an officer. He went through a red light at an intersection in East Hills when he was struck by a car.
Pittsburgh Public Safety officials said he had his lights on at the time of the crash. No major injuries were reported.
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Detective John Abbondanza was given a three-day suspension after an SUV fleeing from police slammed into several vehicles at an intersection in Wilkinsburg last year, sending nine people to the hospital.
Minutes earlier, Abbondanza had stopped the SUV for tinted windows when the driver took off; Abbondanza began pursuing. Sources say he broke off, but Chief Jason Lando suspended him for policy violations. The union has appealed the suspension.
Abbondanza and the city are also facing a civil lawsuit filed by several people injured in the collision.
This latest crash comes just days after 11 Investigates spoke with the chief about a scathing email he sent to supervisors highlighting numerous violations of the city’s pursuit policy. It included pursuing vehicles without sufficient justification, failing to activate emergency lights during an unauthorized pursuit, intentionally deactivating in-car and body-worn cameras and intentionally striking another vehicle.
“Recently we saw some issues where some officers, well-intentioned, they want to catch bad guys, right, so I appreciate the fact that they want to be proactive, but we have to know we have to constantly balance that keeping the community safe with catching someone who broke the law,” Lando said.
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