Pittsburgh city mayors need to leave the #police officers to enforce the law according to their professional know-how.

Bill Peduto was serving as our mayor during the BLM protests in August of 2020. When one of the protesters was arrested by plainclothes officers in an unmarked van, Peduto was quick to criticize them for "arrest methods and other actions that I do not support, and which run counter to our common principles." So while people across the country were calling to defund the police, Peduto began putting pressure on the police department to act in a way that met his approval.

A few days later, he had to deal with protests being held outside of his home. Police ordered the protesters to disperse, and Peduto said that while he agreed with citizens' right to hold demonstrations, "a peaceful protest devolving into unacceptable conduct in which residents are being harassed and threatened... this crosses a line that cannot be allowed to continue." It begs the question: should the mayor have authority to tell police when and how to do their jobs?

According to PublicSource reports, mayors do not have control over the daily operations of the police department, neither do they make decisions about hiring or firing officers. However, elected officials are responsible for approving the police budget, which outlines the department's priorities and has a strong influence on how the police department will serve and protect the people. Mayors also appoint public safety officials who can directly implement changes within a department.

Pittsburgh’s police chief, public safety director, and commanders report to the mayor (currently Bill Peduto's successor, Mayor Ed Gainey). This means that mayors can take significant actions to change the way police interact with the public. In effect, the mayor is able to regulate some police actions, including the use of force and pepper spray. It is a clear example of a public official overstepping their bounds, taking advantage of their office by using their influence to change the way police do their jobs. 

Pittsburgh police tactics to control protests have drawn criticism in the past, such as June 2020’s East Liberty protests. At the time, Peduto said that “smoke, not teargas” had been deployed; later, he released another statement saying he “will never tolerate these tactics being used at peaceful protests again.” Why does he think he has the right to determine how police are supposed to act?

Before they are put on the streets, officers of the law are trained adequately and thoroughly on how to handle different circumstances. They are responsible for assessing situations and determining when to use force, as well as how much force is required, and these decisions have to be left within their scope of authority. as to be left in therefore, the police should be left to practice what they trained.

Peduto implemented sweeping policing changes such as assigning a new incident commander to oversee protests, and restructuring the oversight and command framework for the Police Special Response Teams which are trained on crowd control methods. It is quite unfortunate that Peduto continued to interfere with law enforcement operations by issuing orders that contradict the policing culture and discipline. Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 1 President Robert Swartzwelder said that Peduto’s routine of changing policies put police officers between a rock and a hard place, “paralyzing the decision-makers” within the agency and making it impossible to properly perform their duties.

Hopefully, Mayor Gainey will do a better job of staying in his own lane and allowing police to stay in theirs. Any policy changes that are made have to be thoroughly and carefully considered, we can't just go with knee-jerk reactions. Mayors should not interfere with existing policing practices. It sets a dangerous precedent that we cannot afford to live with.