PITTSBURGH — Residents in Pittsburgh’s Troy Hill neighborhood are tired of drug activity in the area that includes a recent overdose at a spray park and another that happened just feet away.
“It is frustrating,” Jodi Stebler, of Troy Hill, said. “You see people passed out in cars, obviously high, or you see a lot of activity up here.”
On Friday morning, a man was found dead from a heroin overdose inside a bathroom at the Troy Hill Spray Park. His body was discovered by a park employee and hazmat was called in.
Hours later, and only feet away, another man, James Ewing, was arrested on Goettman Street after he overdosed on heroin in car, police said.
Councilwoman Darlene Harris said the city’s crime and drug problems are on the rise because of a critical shortage in the Pittsburgh Police Department.
“We're down 100 officers right now, and they only put one class on last year,” Harris said. “Council is putting the money in the budget for the police officers and we are not getting up to the numbers.”
The spray park is open for only a few more days, but residents want to ensure it is clean and safe for the hundreds of children who enjoy it.