City Impact Squad may dissolve

City officials have proposed dissolving, in January, a team of officers who target guns and… City officials have proposed dissolving, in January, a team of officers who target guns and drugs, but one councilman raised objections saying the loss could compromise the security of city residents.

Under the plan, the Impact Squad officers would join the Narcotics and Vice Department, said Tammy Ewin, public information officer for Pittsburgh’s Bureau of Police.

Their responsibilities would include going into neighborhoods and making arrests, she said. After they take suspects into custody, the officers would be responsible for following up any leads they found and continuing the investigations.

City council member James Motznik raised his concerns about the elimination of the squad in a recent letter to Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl.

“The Impact Squad is responsible for taking firearms off our streets, for combating street-corner drug dealers, open-air drug market and leads the police department in arrests,” he said.

Motznik brought the issue to the mayor’s attention during last Tuesday’s city council meeting.

“The mayor got into the discussion,” he said. “They decided that it won’t change, so the Impact Squad will still be in the neighborhoods fighting crime…The mayor now knows how important it is to the entire city.”

Ewin said that the plan will divide the department into two teams of officers. Each team could work in a different part of the city.

Before the plan may be implemented, the Impact Squad will continue to act as they always have. According to Ewin, the current arrangement is that the squad moves into neighborhoods and targets immediate trouble, such as outdoor drug markets.

Once they make arrests, the squad gives the evidence they’ve uncovered to narcotics detectives.

At present, narcotics detectives take over the evidence and the investigations from the Impact Squad, Ewin said. The narcotics detectives follow up any leads.

In addition to disbanding the Impact Squad, other changes proposed include sending two sergeants from Narcotics to the Street Response Unit, she said.

The SRU is composed of uniformed officers who respond immediately to high profile homicides or shootings to make arrests and retrieve guns, Ewin said.

Under the plan, two officers would be moved from the SRU into regional zones, she said. The police department is also looking to promote two people to sergeant in order to fill some current vacancies.

In the end, Motznik would like to see the city put more resources in place and add more officers to the squad.

On the other hand, Ewin said the chief of police usually makes the decisions regarding personnel and the structure of the police department. The mayor selects the chief and could have an influence on what happens.

Motznik said that ultimately the mayor would make the decision.

Ravenstahl could not be reached for comment.

There is currently an interim chief of police. The new chief of police will make any decisions regarding the dissolution of the Impact Squad.

Whether or not the Impact Squad is disbanded, John Fedele, assistant director of news for Pitt’s Office of Public Affairs, said that the University Police force has been augmented to include three extra officers on Tuesdays, Fridays and Saturdays.

These officers join a group of eight to 10 officers including regular, bike, motorcycle and plain-clothes officers, he said.