8 Pgh. Police Officers Disciplined After Man's Taser Death

Pittsburgh PA

21 December, 2021

4:22 PM

Description

PITTSBURGH, PA — Eight Pittsburgh police officers, including two supervisors, will be disciplined following an October Taser incident in Bloomfield in which a man died. The city also is overhauling its policies regarding police use of Tasers. Rogers died in UPMC Mercy Hospital a day after he was shocked by a Taser multiple times in Bloomfield. The incident, which occurred after police responded to the alleged attempted theft of a bicycle, has sparked controversy and community protests. "Jim Rogers will serve as a sober reminder of the tremendous responsibility all officers bear when they wear the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police badge," Police Chief Scott Schubert said Tuesday. "In the case of Jim Rogers, we failed our fellow citizen. The disciplinary measures and procedural changes we are announcing today are intended to ensure a tragedy such as this never occurs again in the city of Pittsburgh." An internal police Critical Incident Review Board and the Allegheny County Police Department investigated the incident. The county police department probe is ongoing, while the police review board cited "procedural failures" that led to Rogers' death. The board has recommended the following policy changes be implemented by police: Any use of force incident will require the presence of a supervisor on scene to complete a medical assessment and request appropriate personnel. Any incident involving a Taser will require emergency medical services personnel to assess the patient. Police will be retrained in intervention policies.Officers will be required to become fully certified emergency medical responders. No details were provided on the discipline the eight officers will receive. Be the first to know what's happening in your community and region. With a free Patch subscription, you'll always be up to date on local and state news: https://patch.com/subscribe.