Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen Zappala says his office is still deciding whether to file criminal charges after a late-night bar fight in Pleasant Hills that has already sidelined several Pittsburgh police officers on administrative leave. The off-duty dust-up has triggered both a criminal review and parallel misconduct investigations inside city government.
Channel 11’s 11 Investigates team reported that Zappala sat down with chief investigator Rick Earle and described the case as very much active, with prosecutors sorting through evidence before making any charging decisions, according to WPXI. He did not signal that charges were imminent and said his office is concentrating on pinpointing the biggest problems in the case before taking the next step.
Chief and watchdogs open internal probes
Newly sworn Chief Jason Lando confirmed that the Citizen Police Review Board has opened an inquiry and that the Office of Municipal Investigations is also examining the incident. “It’s disheartening. I can’t speak about it now, only because it is not a Pittsburgh police department investigation,” Lando told WPXI. The station reported that sources say there is video that appears to show one officer striking a person with a bottle.
Who’s been suspended and what we know…