Allegheny County DA candidate Matt Dugan lays out plan to make Downtown Pittsburgh safer

Democrat Matt Dugan said Friday that he would work to restore Downtown Pittsburgh as a safe, clean place for residents, businesses and visitors if elected Allegheny County’s district attorney.

“It’s vitally, vitally important that we as leaders provide a safe and clean Downtown area so that our existing businesses can thrive, our efforts to attract new businesses can be successful and the people who live work and visit Downtown feel safe and protected,” Dugan said during a news conference in Market Square where he rolled out his Downtown safety platform.

Thousands of people visit the Golden Triangle each year, Dugan said.

“We must restore our Downtown community because Pittsburgh is an economic driver — not just for the city, not just for the county, but for the region,” Dugan said. “It’s safety cannot be jeopardized.”

A long-time public defender, Dugan won the Democratic primary over six-term incumbent District Attorney Stephen A. Zappala Jr. in May. Zappala earned enough Republican write-in votes to appear on the November election ballot as the GOP nominee.

“It is undeniable that we’ve had an increase in our homeless population, an increase in the number of high-need individuals on the streets and an increase in criminal activity,” Dugan said. “These factors have led to a growing concern that Downtown Pittsburgh is no longer the city it once was.”

Complaints about open-air drug use, vagrancy and the presence of trash, urine and excrement in Downtown spaces are common.

As part of Dugan’s proposal, he wants to create a district judge’s office specific to Downtown to have a single elected official overseeing bail decisions, preliminary hearings and case resolutions.

Such a step would allow that district judge to have more familiarity with the people who come before the court, Dugan said, while at the same time making that judge more accountable to residents and business owners.

Currently, a person charged in a crime Downtown must appear in Pittsburgh Municipal Court before an on-duty district judge who could be from anywhere in the county. Dugan said those judges are “folks who are not accountable at all to the residents of Downtown Pittsburgh or the business owners of Downtown Pittsburgh.”

“This rotating cast of magisterial district judges can lead to disparate and inconsistent outcomes. A single magisterial district judge responsible for Downtown Pittsburgh can over time become more familiar with the Downtown population, better differentiate between low-level offenders and dangerous individuals and can make more informed decisions that will better serve the public safety interests of our downtown community,” Dugan said.

Dugan said he also would assign a team of prosecutors to handle cases originating in Downtown, to work closely with Pittsburgh police and immediately be available for investigations and charging decisions.

As part of his plan, Dugan said that his office would also lead the enforcement of criminal violations Downtown.

“I live in Moon Township. We don’t permit open-air drug transactions in Moon Township just as we don’t permit them in Fox Chapel or Wilkinsburg or any other section of the City of Pittsburgh. We also don’t permit open use of needle-injected narcotics in those neighborhoods,” Dugan said.

Dugan said he also would ensure that prosecutors attend all arraignment proceedings to review charging decisions and advocate for bail conditions.

Earlier this month, a New York man who police said they caught with fentanyl valued at $1.6 million was released on nonmonetary bond and has failed to appear for two subsequent hearings. Zappala criticized the magistrate judge in that case, Xander Orenstein, who released the defendant, saying his office was never notified of the decision.

Dugan said he would also have a community engagement liaison in the district attorney’s office to meet with residents, visitors and business owners about their concerns and have quarterly public meetings.

Throughout his campaign, Dugan said he has spoken with Mayor Ed Gainey’s office, city police, business and union leaders.

“It’s clear from those discussions that the strategy to combat rising crime in Downtown Pittsburgh is missing one critical element — leadership from the district attorney’s office,” Dugan said.

When asked to comment on Dugan’s plan, Zappala said in a statement that his opponent doesn’t understand the role of a prosecutor.

“Matt Dugan says a lot of things that he wants to do that are simply outside of the purview of the district attorney’s office,” Zappala said. “The district attorney’s office is a law enforcement office, not a social service agency.”

In his statement, Zappala blamed the spike of crime Downtown on city leadership.

“As district attorney, I can only prosecute the crimes that law enforcement brings to me. In the rest of the county, local governments and their police forces are active partners in fighting back against crime. City of Pittsburgh leadership is not allowing police to do their jobs, which is causing the spike in crime Downtown,” Zappala said.

Zappala went on to say that he has been working with law enforcement at the state and federal level, as demonstrated through recent drug arrests Downtown.

Zappala also was critical of Dugan’s plan to have a Downtown magistrate’s office, saying the district attorney has no authority to make that happen.

In response to Zappala, Mayor Ed Gainey said Friday that his administration’s No. 1 priority has been making Pittsburgh safer. Homicides are down 20% year-over-year and non-fatal shootings are down 14%, he said.

“Contrary to reports, Downtown is rebounding after the pandemic,” Gainey said.

Tourism in July passed pre-pandemic levels, and 26 new businesses have opened, he said. He pointed to attendance at Cultural District events and residential occupancy rates as other signs of improvement.

“Once again, the district attorney is focusing on getting reelected, and not doing any real work in helping make Pittsburgh safe,” Gainey said.

The mayor also criticized Zappala for his inaction on two high-profile, pending cases in the city, the Airbnb shooting and the death of Jim Rogers, who died a day after being shocked with a Taser repeatedly.

“Our officers have worked hard to bring him all the information he needs to make a determination in several high-profile cases … and he has yet to do his job and charge those responsible,” Gainey said. “We sincerely hope that the DA will put more effort in answering those hard questions, bringing those who make our city less safe to justice, instead of making unfounded and misinformed attacks about the mayor, his administration and our hardworking and dedicated Pittsburgh Bureau of Police.”