(Ken Silva, Headline USA) The Pittsburgh Citizen Police Review Board is still investigating how a group of Pittsburgh motorcycle cops who ended up at the deadly July 13 Trump rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, the agency’s director told Headline USA on Tuesday.
The review board’s investigation stems from Pittsburgh sending 10 motorcycle officers to the Trump rally. The Pittsburgh Bureau of Police reportedly said that those motorcycle officers weren’t actually approved to help with the Trump rally. Instead, they should have been available to help with First Lady Jill Biden’s visit to Pittsburgh at the same time, according to local news station WPXI.
At the Trump shooting, four of the Pittsburgh cops were hit with shrapnel. They were treated at the scene, and two were briefly hospitalized with minor injuries.
Two days later, two of the injured Pittsburgh cops were transferred to other units.
When asked about the matter earlier this month, Pittsburgh police denied that the transfer of the two officers had anything to do with their presence at the Trump rally. But on Tuesday, Pittsburgh Citizen Police Review Board director Beth Pittinger told Headline USA that some of the police officers had been “demoted.”
I went to an online meeting of the Pittsburgh Citizen Police Review Board to ask about the local motorcycle cops who were injured at the Butler rally.
There remains a question of how those cops got there in the first place. Allegedly, they should have been at the Jill Biden event… pic.twitter.com/fIXGVTPXmq— Ken Silva (@JD_Cashless) September 26, 2024
Pittsburgh police denying that the transfer of the two officers had anything to do with their presence at the Trump rally.
“No discipline was issued, although there was initially a demotion issued to senior officers at the scene. However, I believe those have been grieved, so they’re going forward through the grievance process with the city,” Pittinger said during an online review board meeting, which this reporter attended.
“There is, of course, an issue: We’re still trying to determine how they got there in the first place. Who authorized them to attend the rally? The people who were injured—they were fortunate to have our officers there to help them. But as far as protocol goes, there remains the question as to who authorized their presence at that rally,” she said.
“It’s not unusual for Pittsburgh motorcycle officers to provide escorts, but they were there for the whole thing, so that’s what we’re trying to understand better. We don’t have an answer for that yet,” she added.
The review board will meet again next month, and Headline USA plans to attend for an update on the Pittsburgh cops. This publication has also filed a Pennsylvania Right to Know Law request for records that may shed light on the matter—including whether the officers were assigned to the Trump rally or went there on their own accord.
Ken Silva is a staff writer at Headline USA. Follow him at x.com/jd_cashless.
