Pittsburgh city employee robbed at gunpoint in Downtown parking lot
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — Pittsburgh Controller Rachael Heisler is raising concerns after one of her employees was robbed Downtown at gunpoint and police did not respond when he called for help.
The city employee was returning a city-owned vehicle to a parking lot on Second Avenue on June 28 when a person walked up and pointed a gun.
KDKA-TV obtained a copy of the letter Heisler sent to Mayor Ed Gainey. It said the employee was putting his belongings into his personal vehicle when a man held him at gunpoint and ran off with cash.
Heisler said the employee drove to the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police Zone 3 station near where he lives and tried to report the incident. She said he pressed the call button and waited for nearly an hour but no officers responded.
He left a phone number and got a call from an officer later that night.
Pittsburgh City Councilman and Public Safety Commitee Chair Anthony Coghill told KDKA-TV that he "spoke to the victim several times today. He assured me he pressed the call button twice and was connected to 911. He later received a call several hours later. It is inexcusable there was nobody to take his report! This was armed robbery!"
Heisler expressed her concern, saying:
"Our highest priority in government is keeping people safe ... rising street violence is posing a serious threat to city employees who work downtown."
The robbery came as Pittsburgh police are rolling out a new plan to make Downtown safer. They say a high-visibility patrol car will be driving the streets of Downtown with its lights on and several more officers will be working in the area.
"I think it can help. We can't predict the future, but we're gonna be more visible," Zone 2 Commander Timothy Novosel said. "There's gonna be more officers down there."
In a statement to KDKA-TV, Deputy Mayor Jake Pawlak said:
"While we have made great strides in reducing incidents of violence downtown since its peak following the COVID-19 pandemic, every incident that occurs is one too many.
"Under Mayor Gainey's leadership, we've made significant investments into public safety Downtown, including the creation of the Downtown Public Safety Center and tripling the number of officers downtown during peak hours of activity.
"We appreciate the controller's support for the Mayor's decisions to reopen the police academy and make significant investments in expanding the Office of Community Health and Safety, which provides vital services to prevent the root causes of violence.
"The Gainey administration will continue to make the safety of all Pittsburghers our highest priority."
