New Questions About Pittsburgh Police Tasing Incident That Resulted In Death Of Man
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- New questions have surfaced about the police tasing incident in Bloomfield that resulted in the death of 54-year-old Jim Rogers.
KDKA Investigates has obtained 911 tapes and call logs indicating another situation that developed after Rogers' arrest.
After the death of Rogers, concerns and questions arose about the arrest itself, the multiple uses of the stun gun, and the rolling of the suspect across the street. But KDKA Investigates has learned investigators are most concerned about what happened — or more accurately what did not happen — next.
According to the call logs, the first officer came on the scene at 10:29 a.m. and placed Rogers under arrest at 10:36 a.m. But police didn't begin transporting Rogers until 10:57 a.m., arriving at UPMC Mercy Hospital at 11:13 a.m. — some 37 minutes after the arrest.
Beth Pittinger of the Pittsburgh Citizen Police Review Board said the delays raise new concerns.
"We have to stand back for a moment until the district attorney renders his decision on any criminal culpability of the officers' conduct. So there are a lot of questions we'd like answers, but we can't we're restrained from doing right now," Pittinger said.
During the arrest, Rogers can be heard on the tape complaining of being hurt. Though EMS was summoned, it's not clear if he received medical attention on the scene. The dispatcher told the medics that the officers want to be decontaminated from blood from the suspect.
"We know EMS was there briefly, ever so briefly, and they left the scene without Mr. Rogers," Pittinger said.
EMS did not transport Rogers. Instead, officers took him in their cruiser, bypassing West Penn Hospital four blocks away. The logs indicate officers planned to take him directly to the county jail, but Rogers went into cardiac arrest en route and they diverted to UPMC Mercy Hospital. They met up with the medics outside the hospital.
Now, all deaths in Pittsburgh Police custody are investigated by the Allegheny County Police Department to determine if proper procedures were followed. That investigation is continuing.