Top Stories

Pittsburgh police officer charged with hitting vehicle with his cruiser

A Pittsburgh police officer is charged with a misdemeanor after allegedly rear-ending someone with his cruiser and then not reporting the incident to the department.

According to a criminal complaint, the department received a call on May 4 from a woman who said she saw the incident earlier in the day on Fifth Avenue, Downtown. She gave the department the ID on the cruiser, which Chisom had checked out that morning at the beginning of his shift.

When another officer contacted Chisom about the woman’s claim, he allegedly admitted the incident occurred, but when he spoke to the driver of the car he hit, she told him it was “alright,” so he drove off. Chisom also allegedly admitted he did not ask for any insurance or contact information from the other driver.

After returning to the Zone 2 Station, Chisom told police he did not observe damage to either car while at the scene, but according to the complaint, there was damage to the cruiser’s bumper.

TRENDING NOW:

Chisom also allegedly told police he did not conduct a formal traffic stop, which means the camera in the vehicle did not activate, nor did he turn on his body camera to record the incident.

When contacted again by police, the reporting witness told them she saw an officer get out of his vehicle to talk to the driver, and then saw the citizen’s vehicle make a right turn and stop mid-block while police cruiser turned left and drove off.

The witness said she spoke to the other driver and the woman said, “I can’t believe a police car just hit me and he told me to pull over.”

Chisom faces a misdemeanor charge of an accident involving damage and a summary charge of giving false information.