PITTSBURGH — A photo posted on social media of a Pittsburgh police officer sleeping behind the wheel of a police cruiser has sparked a debate about safety concerns for the public and the officer.
“It was nuts just to see a Pittsburgh cop sitting there, asleep on the job,” Danielle DeRiso told Channel 11 News on Thursday.
DeRiso said she took the photo of the officer that’s now circulating online outside a Bloomfield gas station around 2 a.m. Thursday. She said she and her friends went inside the gas station’s convenience store and noticed the officer when they came back out.
“We came out, and we realized the cop in the front seat is like knocked out, asleep, head back, mouth open, catching flies. Engine (was) running. Lights were on,” DeRiso said.
She said her first concern wasn’t about the officer not doing her job, but rather the officer’s safety.
“She put herself in a lot of danger,” DeRiso said. “Anyone could open up the door, grab her gun.”
Channel 11 News showed the photo to Beth Pittinger with Pittsburgh’s Citizen Police Review Board.
“(I’m) concerned greatly because the officer is exposed to a potential ambush,” she said.
Pittinger said discipline should depend on what led to the officer sleeping.
“Maybe there's something we're not aware of, but regardless of the cause, it was a dangerous situation for officer to be in,” she said.
A spokesperson for the Bureau of Pittsburgh Police told Channel 11 News that the bureau does not have a list of offenses and penalties, but rather a progressive discipline system. The spokesperson encouraged DeRiso to file a complaint, so the bureau can investigate.
DeRiso said she will file a formal complaint, saying the situation could have ended badly.
“If she's a wild sleeper, she could've kicked the car into drive (and) hit somebody. This could’ve gone so many different ways,” she said.
The Zone 5 Pittsburgh police commander told Channel 11 News he is looking into the incident.
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