Gainey says city plans to train police on ordinance preventing secondary traffic stops

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey said the city plans to train police on an ordinance that stops officers from pulling people over for secondary offenses. 

Pittsburgh City Council created an ordinance in 2021 preventing police from pulling people over for more minor offenses like burned-out tail lights or expired registration stickers, at least without a larger reason for doing so.

But an internal memo sent out by the acting police chief this month tells officers to ignore the updated training instructions and to follow the police manual. The manual makes no mention of avoiding stops for secondary offenses.

When asked about following the city ordinance, Pittsburgh police said "the ordinance is not police policy," and that officers will continue to follow the manual regarding violations of the motor vehicle code.

Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey said the city has been clear on its vision for policing.

"The memo issued by Acting Chief Stangreki was about one thing — delaying the training around our new city law on secondary stops in order to make sure that the training included information about a new state law," he said in a statement. 

"We fully support the legislation by City Council and plan to work diligently to train our officers on this law," he added.