Activists call on police to review policies after use of force in controversial Downtown arrest
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — The outrage continues after a contentious arrest between Pittsburgh police and a Black man was caught on camera one week ago in Downtown Pittsburgh.
Police are calling the interaction justified, but some people don't agree.
Tim Stevens, head of the Black Political Empowerment Project, is upset.
"In our opinion, we saw an exorbitant use of force. And it is unacceptable," Stevens said.
The same goes for other community activists like Brandi Fisher with the Alliance for Police Accountability. It's why they came together outside the City-County Building on Friday night to make their voices heard.
"We want to hear about what you're going to do about getting the people who are experiencing homelessness homes, not arresting them for loitering in a place that they used to call home," Fisher said.
Daylon Davis is the president of NAACP Pittsburgh.
"It is unacceptable that we live in a society here in 2023 after George Floyd that we have a Black man on the ground with four-plus officers punching him and kneeing him in the face," Davis said.
Their concerns come after Pittsburgh Police Chief Larry Scirotto said a preliminary investigation into the controversial arrest on Aug. 25 is complete.
"We have determined that, that use of force was objectively reasonable," Scirotto said.
Video captured that night shows police punching, then kneeing Jashon Martin as they arrested him on Smithfield Street.
"Based on the totality of the circumstances, based on what the officers knew at the time of engagement, that we were dealing with a potentially armed subject, his level of resistance was high, he was given approximately 54 commands to surrender, and in that use of force was deployed to affect the arrest," Scirotto said.
Scirotto also said according to standards, "Force will not always be equal to the resistance that they are facing."
Fisher said this wasn't something that should have been handled by police.
"They are not the ones who should be responding to these situations, that we address these things with the public health professionals that we are supposed to be addressing them with," Fisher said.
Mayor Ed Gainey announced the formation of an advisory committee that will be responsible for doing an independent review of past and future use of force incidents.
"The committee will consist of community leaders who will draw on their experience of a variety of experts and public safety personnel to discuss what happened, what we learned and what policies we may need to change in order to best serve the public," Gainey said.
However, local activists said that's not enough.
"It is incumbent on them to use their resources, their connections to change the policy that they have stated today to be justifiable," Davis said.
"I'm asking the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police and the city administration to review those policies for the purpose of changing them so that when regular citizens see what happens, they can feel that the police bureau of Pittsburgh is operating in a professional and sensitive manner," Stevens said.
Martin is currently at Allegheny County Jail. He's accused of being involved in a fight and drug deals prior to the arrest. He is facing several charges, including aggravated assault.
