Upset with the handling of the investigation surrounding the death of Jim Rogers in Bloomfield, local church groups have asked state Attorney General Josh Shapiro to take action on the case.
Members from the First United Methodist Church of Pittsburgh, The Warren United Methodist Church, East Liberty Methodist Church, First Unitarian Church of Pittsburgh and the Pittsburgh Quakers — along with four other parishes and various activist organizations associated with them — sent a letter to Mr. Shapiro on Wednesday to ask three things.
First, they ask that he “review the handling of this incident” by Pittsburgh and Allegheny County police as well as the county’s district attorney’s office and medical examiner’s office. Additionally, they are asking for an “unbiased independent organization” to investigate Mr. Rogers’ death.
“We ask that you take this action because the local authorities cannot credibly investigate themselves,” the letter said.
Mr. Rogers, 54, died in mid-October, nearly 24 hours after he was shocked with a Taser by Pittsburgh police officers during an alleged theft.
“His tragic and unnecessary death has been badly mishandled by local authorities,” the letter to Mr. Shapiro said.
At the end of December, the city announced that disciplinary action was pending for eight officers who were involved in the incident. However, the city has not officially announced the names of those involved.
The Critical Incident Review Board also conducted an investigation into the incident and gave a number of policy recommendations, which included retraining city police on the duty to intervene policy, as well as recommending that any use of force require the presence of a supervisor.
Additionally, any use of a Taser will require EMS personnel to do an evaluation on the person stunned.
The parishes are also asking that Mr. Shapiro “ensure that the officers involved are held accountable” for Mr. Rogers’ death.
“The failure of the local authorities to deal forthrightly with this tragedy has been compounded by the county medical examiner who waited more than two months before outrageously concluding that Rogers’ death was an ‘accident,’” the letter said.
The Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s office ruled on Jan. 3, that Mr. Rogers’ death was accidental, but clarified that “these are not criminal determinations, but medical ones.”
“Members of our religious communities knew Jim Rogers as an unhoused Black man who lived in our neighborhood and received food and assistance,” members wrote to Mr. Shapiro. “In a dozen prayer vigils, rallies and marches throughout the city, our religious organizations, community activists and members of Jim Rogers’ family have been demanding justice and transparency.”
At various protests and rallies, activist groups have asked for the release of the body camera footage from the officers on scene that day. The letter to Mr. Shapiro also asks for this, saying that it would be a way to “restore public trust.”
The groups are also asking that moving forward, the attorney general’s office “establish a framework” to work with law enforcement agencies, including Pittsburgh police, to implement new changes that will “prevent additional needless deaths.”
However, unless a referral is sent to the attorney general’s office from the Allegheny County District Attorney, Mr. Shapiro cannot get involved, according to spokesperson Molly Stieber.
“The death of Mr. Rogers is a tragedy,” Ms. Stieber said. “Under Pennsylvania law, our office does not have jurisdiction to investigate this matter unless a referral is sent by a District Attorney for either a conflict or resource need.”
District Attorney Stephen Zappala said that the issue of use of force “has been and remains before Mr. Shapiro and the legislature.”
“I have long held the position, and publicly communicated the same, that if the legislature and the attorney general want to assume full responsibility for the investigation and prosecution of police involved use of force matters, I would support that,” Mr. Zappala said.
Hallie Lauer: hlauer@post-gazette.com
First Published: January 12, 2022, 10:14 p.m.