Mayor Peduto names members of Pittsburgh Community Task Force on Police Reform

PITTSBURGH — The members of the Pittsburgh Community Task Force on Police Reform were announced Wednesday by Mayor Bill Peduto.

The task force will work to review current police practices, police-community relations and the state of safety in Pittsburgh communities. It will work to deliver recommendations and implementation plans to Peduto by the fall, a news release said.

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“This Task Force is made up of representatives from diverse stakeholder communities and will put our neighbors’ voices at the center of the conversation of police reform since that is the key to making real and sustained change. I’m confident that they will develop people-oriented solutions that make Pittsburgh a better place for all, especially in our black communities,” Peduto said in a statement.

The members of the Pittsburgh Community Task Force on Police Reform are:

• Dr. Quintin Bullock - President of CCAC, co-chair
• Valerie McDonald Roberts - Former Elected Official and Chief of Pittsburgh Bureau of Neighborhood Empowerment, co-chair
• Brandi Fisher - President and CEO, Alliance for Police Accountability
• Sharon Werner - Former Chief of Staff to Attorneys General Eric Holder and Loretta Lynch, and Chief Counsel at PNC Bank
• Richard Garland - Assistant Professor, Pitt Graduate School of Public Health and Founder of One Vision One Life
• Tim Stevens - Chairman, Black Political Empowerment Project
• Monica Ruiz - Executive Director, Casa San Jose
• Amanda Green Hawkins - United Steelworkers, former Allegheny County Councilperson
• Patricia Leftwich - Community Advocate
• Sylvia Fields - Executive Director, Eden Hall Foundation
• Bobbi Watt Geer - CEO, United Way of Southwestern Pennsylvania
• Camille Redman - Community Advocate
• Tony Beltran - President and CEO, Pittsburgh Mercy
• Alexander Cash - Community Advocate
• Dr. Angela Reynolds - CEO, YWCA of Greater Pittsburgh
• David Harris - Professor, Pitt School of Law, Focused on Police Behavior, Law Enforcement, and Race
• Nathaniel Yap - Community Advocate

The FOP Ft. Pitt Lodge #1 released a statement regarding the creation of the task force:

“The Fraternal Order of Police Ft Pitt Lodge # 1 (FOP Ft. Pitt Lodge #1) has been contacted by numerous media outlets regarding Mayor Peduto’s media release on the formation of a community police reform task force that will review policing in the city and deliver recommendations by the fall. 

Mayor Peduto’s formation of a task force seems to convey a lack of confidence with: community leaders, city council, The Office of Municipal Investigations, Bureau of Police leadership, and the Citizen Police Review Board. 

FOP Ft. Pitt Lodge # 1 feels Mayor Peduto is missing an important opportunity to shine a light on the hard work Pittsburgh Police Officers, as part of our larger community, have done to improve police and community interactions, particularly when it comes to use of force and procedural justice matters.

FOP Ft. Pitt Lodge # 1 believes the citizens of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvanians, and the United States would benefit if Mayor Peduto acknowledged the great strides members of the Pittsburgh Police have made in procedural justice when our members assisted the Obama administration's 21st Century Policing initiative, instead of creating a panel with limited or no police experience.  The Community Police Reform Task Force appears duplicative, and an unnecessary cost that is borne by the taxpayers of the City of Pittsburgh.

Lastly, FOP Ft. Pitt Lodge # 1 is aware of hearings occurring on the state and national levels of government regarding police reforms.  It appears too early to establish a task force when no one is aware of what legislation or reforms will be mandated from these hearings; thus costing even more money the City of Pittsburgh has said it does not have because of the Covid-19 pandemic.  FOP Ft. Pitt Lodge #1 will not comment further until lawmakers on every level of government has completed information gathering and proposes legislation. "

Mayor Peduto voices support for police following FOP criticism of department reforms Mayor Peduto voices support for police following FOP criticism of department reforms

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