Harper Continues To Defend Self, City From Lawsuit
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) – A civil lawsuit contends a former Pittsburgh Police officer was out of control and the administration did nothing about it.
So now, former Chief of Police Nate Harper is in court defending the city and himself.
Tuesday was day two on the stand for Harper, who testified he could have fired officer Bradley Walker earlier, but he chose not to. Instead, Walker received oral and written reprimands in response to several complaints filed against the detective.
Jarrett Fate, 32, is suing Harper, Assistant Chief George Trosky and the City of Pittsburgh because of an incident back in May of 2010, when Fate says Walker assaulted him during a road rage incident. Fate argues Walker should have been fired way before he ever had his chance encounter with the detective, because there had been more than 30 other earlier complaints against Walker.
One of those was a domestic assault case involving Walker's wife and son. He was suspended for a day.
Harper was asked, "Could you have terminated him for that?" To which Harper replied with yes. When asked if the police department fired him though, Harped replied with no.
"The attorney for the plaintiff was interested in showing a pattern a common pattern among the higher administration mainly brutality chargers how they were not serious to the upper administration," former police Sgt. Carmen Robinson said.
Robinson also gave testimony – on behalf of the plaintiff. She says she's known about the complaints for more than a decade.
"My gut tells me that we've come full circle, that we've come back right where we were in the late 1990s," she said.
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