Pa. appeals court reinstates Pittsburgh cop fired over Taser use in fatal encounter

A Pennsylvania appeals court Friday paved the way for a controversial Pittsburgh police officer to return to work after he was fired for repeatedly using his Taser on a homeless man who died the next day.

The city’s police union hailed the decision by a seven-member panel of Commonwealth Court judges to reinstate Keith Edmonds.

“The (union) knew all along of Officer Edmonds’ innocence and that he acted reasonably,” said Robert Swartzwelder, president of the Fraternal Order of Police Fort Pitt Lodge 1, which represents the bureau’s rank-and-file officers.

But Pittsburgh officials signaled they intend to fight the reinstatement and try to keep Edmonds off the force.

“We intend to appeal this decision to the Supreme Court,” Olga George, a spokesperson for Mayor Ed Gainey, said in a prepared statement. “We are still examining our legal position and the decision on the reinstatement of Mr. Edmonds will be made at a later time.”

Edmonds, who the city terminated March 24, 2022, following his role in the death of Jim Rogers in October 2021, won an arbitration last year to get his job back.

The City of Pittsburgh took its case to the Allegheny County Common Pleas Court, which barred Edmonds from returning.

But Commonwealth Court reversed that decision, finding the arbitrators acted “within the scope of their authority” — although the judges blasted the arbitration award, calling it “repugnant.”

That language drew a rebuke from Judge Matthew S. Wolf, who wrote that while he agrees with the decision, “I only take exception to the Majority’s disparaging parting shot at the underlying arbitration award that this Court upholds.”

Swartzwelder disparaged the city’s decision to fire Edmonds.

“It was unfortunate and tragic that Jim Rogers died — but in the city’s rush to judgment the city ignored all medical evidence and made a public media mess of the officers lives involved,” Swartzwelder added.

Under the arbitration ruling, Edmonds was set to be reinstated with full back pay and benefits, Swartzwelder said.

Gainey has said, in previous statements, that moves to reinstate Edmonds were “deeply disappointing.”.

“Officer Edmonds himself testified that he violated the policies of the City of Pittsburgh, however this award adopts a new standard that says that even an admission of guilt by the officer isn’t enough to warrant disciplinary action,” the mayor previously said.

“Our city deserves a police bureau that prioritizes treating every resident with dignity and respect, and we deserve a system where our officers can be held accountable for their actions.”

The city agreed in 2023 to pay Rogers’ survivors $8 million to settle a wrongful death lawsuit.

In December, City Solicitor Krysia Kubiak said at a news conference about the settlement that the city was “confident in the position that Mr. Rogers died because of the actions of the officers.”

Edmonds was dispatched to Harriet Street in Bloomfield on Oct. 13, 2021, for a report of a possibly stolen bike. The officer encountered Rogers, a 54-year-old homeless man, and began asking him questions and patting him down.

Rogers became upset when Edmonds removed Rogers’ wallet from his pants pocket, causing Edmonds to react forcefully. In less than a minute, the officer was using his Taser.

Video of the incident showed that Edmonds deployed his Taser 10 times.

An internal city report by a review board found that nine officers on the scene that day failed to properly perform their jobs. Some, the board found, ignored Rogers’ repeated pleas for medical help, while others did not properly supervise those in their command.

The review board also found that Rogers did not present a threat to Edmonds, that the officer gave a series of “rapid, conflicting commands to Rogers,” and chose to use his Taser instead of attempting to handcuff the man.

The review board report revealed that there were at least 10 electrical shocks over three minutes and 15 seconds.

The board said Edmonds’ “poor tactics and decision-making skills escalated rather than de-escalated this incident. Officer Edmonds created the jeopardy in which he found himself.”

The report found that Edmonds violated a number of Pittsburgh police policies, including those dealing with use of force, warrantless search and seizure, standards of conduct and handling of a prisoner.

He was among nine officers disciplined in early 2022.