Penn Hills emergency meeting ends with firing police officer

PENN HILLS, Pa. — A former Wilkinsburg police officer at the center of Romir Talley’s death has been fired from the Penn Hills Police Department.

But local community activists said that’s not the end of the story.

“To the mayor’s credit, she did not know that they were in the process of truly bringing him in. It’s an outrage,” said Kenneth Huston, president of the Pennsylvania State NAACP.

Protesters echoed the same sentiment during a protest on Monday afternoon outside the Penn Hills municipal building.

The rally was organized by Take Action Mon Valley with demonstrators demanded the firing of a newly hired officer, Robert Gowans.

Gowans resigned from the Wilkinsburg Police Department after allegedly shooting and killing 24-year-old Talley in 2019.

“We got to stop allowing these guys to go from police force to police force with these wayward behaviors. He’s under investigation right now. What are you doing?” said one of the demonstrators.

The Allegheny County district attorney’s office is investigating that shooting. But community activists don’t ever want Gowans to wear a badge again.

“The histories of officers must follow them. So nobody should be able to hire a former police officer without knowing his or her record,” said Tim Stevens, CEO of the Black Political Empowerment Project.

We’re told the Penn Hills municipal manager made the final call to hire Gowans.

Penn Hills council members held an emergency meeting to fire him after getting dozens of calls and emails from community members.

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