Bodycam video from Pittsburgh police officer shows encounter before Jim Rogers' death
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — New video shows the moments leading up to the death of Jim Rogers, who died after being repeatedly tased by Pittsburgh police.
Todd Hollis, Rogers' attorney, obtained a court order to release the video showing, in graphic detail, the events leading up to Rogers' death. Hollis said he released the video in the interest of transparency.
KDKA-TV advises caution in watching because the images are disturbing.
Rogers: "No, I didn't take it away."
Pittsburgh Police Officer Keith Edmonds: "I didn't ask you that. I said, 'Did you go on someone's porch?'"
Rogers: "No sir."
This is Rogers, a homeless man accused of stealing a bicycle, in the last minutes of his life. In a video released on Monday by court order, we see for the first time police bodycam video showing the disturbing chain of events leading to his death, beginning with a tussle with Edmonds over the surrender of his wallet.
Edmonds: "Keep your hands up, it's the last time I'm going to say it. Is this your wallet or not?"
The takedown is followed by a stream of demands by the officer that Rogers put his hands behind his back and Rogers repeatedly says, "I didn't do anything." Then when he springs up and runs, he is tased by the officer.
We've seen in the past a neighbor's video of Rogers being repeatedly tased. In Edmonds' bodycam video, we see Rogers crawling in the street and the officer demanding he put his hands behind his back when a neighbor gets involved.
"Would you give him a minute to collect himself?" the neighbor said. "How is he supposed to do anything when you keep zapping him like that."
After a time, police put Rogers in the back of a police cruiser. He tells them he can't breathe and needs to go to a hospital.
"Oh, oh, I can't breathe," Rogers said.
The officers delay leaving until EMS arrives to treat some of their injuries. And even though West Penn Hospital is just two blocks away from where it happened, police take Rogers to UPMC Mercy Hospital where he arrives unconscious and is later pronounced dead.
The city settled with the family for $8 million. The officers' actions on that day have been questioned. Five officers were fired after Rogers' death, though two have returned to the force. Two others face arbitration, trying to get their jobs back. The fifth officer retired.
Pittsburgh Police are not commenting on the video right now. Robert Swartzwelder, president of the Pittsburgh Police Union, released a statement:
"Neither the FOP nor the City of Pittsburgh are permitted to release confidential internal police investigative information surrounding arbitration cases still pending. The Law Department of the City of Pittsburgh has blatantly violated the rights of Pittsburgh Police Officers by releasing compelled statements of its officers to a third party attorney and now the public. The FOP will be filing numerous legal actions regarding the City of Pittsburgh as a result of releasing information without any context.
"The FOP finds it very interesting that the plaintiff in this case released information in this case which wholly benefits his legal position but did not release the medical records of Mr. Rogers.
"Although the death of Mr. Rogers is extremely tragic it seems the plaintiff attorney will only release information he believes to be pertinent rather than ALL the evidence in the case."Jim Rogers family calls for charges
Jim Rogers' family calls for charges
Billy Joe Jordan, Jim Rogers' uncle, said he could barely watch the video.
"That was murder what happened to my nephew," he told KDKA-TV on Monday. "There is no way to describe it."
He wants criminal charges filed.
"Somebody needs to be accountable for my nephew," Joe Jordan said.
Elizabeth Pittinger, the director of the Pittsburgh Citizen Police Review Board, said this was a failure.
"That man is in clear distress," she said on Monday. "Where were the professionals to support him and assure that he was OK?"
"The police response was horrendous," she added. "It was unprofessional and unbecoming on many different levels."
In December 2022, Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen Zappala said that a grand jury investigation into Rogers' death ended without indictments.
Mayor Ed Gainey and Public Safety respond to video's release
The city on Tuesday issued a statement about the video's release, saying, "Police are aware that content of the video will be disturbing for many to watch and that people will want to know what we are doing to ensure that individuals in police custody are treated with care and respect."
Zappala commented on the video during a press conference on a separate topic Tuesday.
"I think you guys saw there were three other hospitals that were bypassed before they finally wound up at Mercy. That's reprehensible. So what policies, what procedures, what training and what faculty and curriculum has been changed because of this?" he said.
The city said there was a critical incident review and disciplinary action recommended after Rogers' death, and the city pointed out that it has made policy and procedural changes, like requiring EMS to respond every time a taser is used, assigning an officer to monitor prisoners during transfer to the nearest emergency room and retraining all police personnel on how to avoid single officer tactics.
"Pittsburgh Police would again like to take this opportunity to express their deepest condolences to the family and friends of Mr. Jim Rogers and to reassure the public that the Bureau and its officers are fully committed to ensuring that all individuals in Pittsburgh Police custody are afforded the highest standard of care," the statement said.
The city also noted that it is prohibited from releasing investigative information because of the Criminal History Record and Information Act, and the decision to release body camera video doesn't fall under its authority.
Public Safety had no further comment.
The city settled a wrongful death lawsuit with Rogers' family for $8 million. No officers were criminally charged.