Pittsburgh LGBTQ group leader accused of impersonating law enforcement officer

The leader of one of Pittsburgh’s LGBTQ advocacy groups turned himself in Wednesday on charges that he billed himself as a law enforcement official and forged documents to back it up, according to a criminal complaint filed by state police.

Gary Van Horn, 40, of Pittsburgh’s Shadyside neighborhood appeared at Pittsburgh Municipal Court shortly before 1 p.m. to answer to the charges. He was flanked by attorneys Phil DiLucente and Nicole Nino and met with state Trooper Thomas Kress for a few minutes before going to Allegheny County Jail for processing. He was later released into the custody of his attorneys.

“I think right now the whole perception is he just decided to be a wild cowboy and allegedly forged someone’s name and put lights on his car and run around with a badge,” DiLucente said. “That’s not the case at all.”

The charges stem from an April 6 incident near the scene of a South Aiken Avenue fire near Van Horn’s home.

A Pittsburgh police officer noticed Van Horn was in civilian clothes while wearing an emergency vest and directing traffic, and that Van Horn’s white Ford SUV was equipped with emergency lights and a siren, but lacked an emergency vehicle license plate, according to the complaint.

Van Horn told police he was with the Emergency Management Authority and authorized by the fire scene commander to direct traffic, but police found no one had authorized him to do so and he wasn’t employed by EMA, according to the complaint.

A document Van Horn provided police was a form that needs to be submitted to the state to designate an emergency vehicle, but it wasn’t for the SUV in question and was not an authorization, according to the complaint.

On Sept. 27, a pedestrian reported nearly being struck Downtown by the same SUV, which was described as an undercover police vehicle. Police reviewed surveillance video from Liberty Avenue and saw the SUV with its emergency lights activated, according to the complaint.

Van Horn provided police with four documents he said showed he was authorized to have the lighting, but police determined that Allegheny County Sheriff William Mullen’s signature was forged on them, according to the complaint.

In another incident, police investigated the SUV and its emergency lights and Van Horn told police a friend had been driving the vehicle and that Van Horn had told the friend he could drive it but couldn’t use the lights. Van Horn again provided the documents that were allegedly signed by Mullen and notarized, according to the complaint.

Mullen told investigators he never authorized Van Horn to use emergency lights or seek emergency license plates and that the documents were not signed by Mullen, according to the complaint.

Van Horn is charged with three counts of forgery, two counts of tampering with records, two counts of tampering with evidence, impersonating a public servant and using emergency signals without authorization.

DiLucente said that Van Horn is a reserve deputy with the Allegheny County Sheriff’s Office, has completed training and was issued a uniform, pepper spray and a Taser by the sheriff’s office.

He’s served 468 hours — 19.5 days — in that capacity, DiLucente said.

The sheriff’s office would not comment on the case or confirm Van Horn’s status as a reserve deputy.

Van Horn has agreed to take a leave of absence from his volunteer position with the Delta Foundation of Pittsburgh.

“We are aware of the personal accusations that have been made against Gary Van Horn,” the foundation posted on its Facebook page. “During this time, our priority continues to be to advocate on behalf of our community members and to ensure that they are treated with dignity, respect and inclusion.”