PITTSBURGH — The City of Pittsburgh’s new police chief is taking action on an uptick in ICE activity.
On three separate occasions, federal agents in Pittsburgh have pulled suspects out of vehicles and abandoned those cars.
These vehicles end up blocking streets across the city and the city said this has become a big safety concern for drivers.
That prompted Police Chief Jason Lando to call Homeland Security and he says they’ve agreed to make some changes.
Just Wednesday, Pittsburgh Police were called to the 1300 block of Methyl Street off of Wentworth Avenue for reports of a pickup truck blocking the roadway. Police found no one around.
They had the truck towed away after learning ICE agents left the vehicle after taking away the driver.
Chief Jason Lando told Channel 11’s Chief Investigator Rick Earle that instance was one of three in recent weeks.
Earle: Just abandoned?
Lando: Yeah, with no one around.
Chief Lando says he reached out to Homeland Security about these abandoned vehicles.
Lando: They indicated that is not their protocol and that should not be happening and he promised to address it, so we shouldn’t see that happening anymore.
The chief said the supervisor told him agents should be leaving the cars in legal parking spots.
Mayor Corey O’Connor addressed a recent uptick in ICE activity in the area.
Earle: Your police department had to come out and tag and tow it. Are you concerned about this?
O’Connor: We are concerned about ICE in general, and obviously, we are not cooperating and we will not.
After frantic calls about possible abductions and kidnappings, Chief Lando says Homeland Security agreed to notify the city after an operation is wrapped up.
Lando: We’ve been getting calls like that: someone was kidnapped off a street corner. We can say we heard from them that it was an ICE operation, it was not a kidnapping.
The chief also sent an email to all officers requesting that they submit a special report directly to him if they are called to follow up on any ICE activity.
Channel 11 reached out to Homeland Security, but hasn’t heard back.
Download the FREE WPXI News app for breaking news alerts.
Follow Channel 11 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch WPXI NOW