The undercover Pittsburgh police detectives involved in an October 2018 bar brawl with a motorcycle gang will remain on the force but will be reassigned, city officials announced Tuesday.
Mayor Bill Peduto and Public Safety Director Wendell Hissrich said other changes are being put into place in response to the fight, but they provided few specifics on them.
They announcement comes two weeks after Peduto and Hissrich said changes would be coming.
Jason Lando, who had been a commander in Zone 5, now heads up the Narcotics and Vice Division of the department. Lando began his new role Monday. Commander Reyne Kacsuta had headed the Narcotics and Vice Division. Kacsuta is now the commander in Zone 2. The moves were part of a shuffling of command staff announced June 26.
The police department is also implementing new guidelines for undercover work and have added more supervisors in the division.
No criminal charges were filed against detectives David Honick, David Lincoln, Brian Burgunder and Brian Martin for their role in the brawl, which was investigated by the U.S. Attorney’s office, the District Attorney’s office and the city’s Office of Municipal Investigations, the statement noted.
The detectives were working an undercover detail at Kopy’s bar on the South Side when an argument between the detectives and members of the Pagans motorcycle gang escalated into a brawl that was recorded by security cameras inside the bar. The video showed an officer punching one of the Pagans 19 times in the head.
The Pagans have filed a lawsuit against the city.
Spokesmen for the mayor’s office and public safety department declined further comment about the matter.
