Pittsburgh police reform task force members call on city officials to act on report

Members of the Pittsburgh Community Task Force on Policing Reform had a singular message for City Council members Thursday: They want the recommendations in their 47-page report implemented.

The 15-member task force met regularly since it was formed in June by Mayor Bill Peduto. They disagreed on many things during the process, University of Pittsburgh law professor David Harris said.

“We agreed on one central thing. Nobody on the task force had any interest in producing a report that would gather dust,” Harris said.

There are more than 100 recommendations in the report and “many are actionable right now,” Harris said.

The city could have started implementing the suggestions made in the report the day after it was released in October.

“We want to see these things put into action,” Harris said.

Forming the task force was one of the measures taken by the city following near-daily protests since May 25, when George’s Floyd’s death by Minneapolis police galvanized the national Black Lives Matter movement and sparked a call for police reform in Pittsburgh.

The police response to the Pittsburgh protests raised questions about how police should respond to protests, what level of force they should use and how Pittsburgh’s police department can be improved.

After the task force was formed, the city enacted reforms including a ban on chokeholds, a ban on purchasing surplus military equipment by police and creation of a Stop the Violence Fund to use money in the police budget for social services.

The city also has created a new Office of Community Health and Safety to provide social service experts to deal with problems, including homelessness, suicide prevention and mental illness, now handled by police.

More is in the works, task force member Ron Symons, a rabbi who is director of the Center for Loving Kindness at the Jewish Community Center of Greater Pittsburgh.

Faith-based leaders in the city have met with Pittsburgh Police Chief Scott Schubert about forming clergy/community councils to further the cause of community oriented policing, Symons said.

Council members were receptive to coming up with an action plan during Thursday’s virtual meeting with the task force.

“I am a big believer in eating the elephant one bite at a time,” Councilman Bruce Kraus said.

He asked task force members to help council devise first steps that will lead to second steps that lead to the recommendations being implemented.

Many of the recommendations are policy changes and won’t cost the city anything to implement, Harris said.

“Let’s come together and divvy up the work,” Councilwoman Erika Strassburger said.