City officials invite G-20 reports

A city official encouraged students and others who want to report an incident with the police to… A city official encouraged students and others who want to report an incident with the police to call her office.

Citizen Police Review Board executive director Elizabeth Pittinger said witnesses should call their agency or file an online complaint form on their website.

Pittinger said those who wish to report an incident should give them basic information.

“When they call, we need to know their name, how we can reach them and whatever they need to tell us about the incident,” Pittinger said. “They don’t need to be intimidated by making a phone call.”

She also suggested students with injuries they want to report should make sure to document them right away.

The board, an independent agency created in 1997 to investigate citizen’s complaints about police conduct, is comprised of seven unpaid members appointed by City Council and the mayor.

Pittinger said she doesn’t think any police confrontation occurred on such a scale before in Pittsburgh. Police used a Long Range Acoustic Device, a loudspeaker for crowd control that can also be used to convey messages or sounds with capabilities to damage hearing. The device had not previously been used against protesters in the U.S.

She also said that the extra law enforcement during the G-20 Summit had “escalated the potential for aggressive confrontation” between civilian protesters and police.

“We certainly have not had that level of force used in terms of the LRAD and chemical agents,” said Pittinger. “They were deployed probably the most that we’ve used in contemporary history here in the city.

She said the review board is considering holding a public meeting about the G-20 protests.

If you wish to report information to the board, call 412-765-8023, or visit their website at www.city.pittsburgh.pa.us/cprb.