Pittsburgh policeman charged with June hit-and-run on North Shore

A Pittsburgh police officer has been arrested and charged in a June hit-and-run crash on the city’s North Shore that left a cyclist with a concussion.

Brian M. Martin, 35, of Pittsburgh’s Westwood neighborhood, was charged Friday with accidents involving death or personal injury, reckless driving and drunken driving.

Police were called to the intersection of Allegheny Avenue and Ridge Avenue on June 19, where they found a male cyclist with an abrasion on his left lower leg. The man told police he was experiencing head pain, but was not taken to the hospital.

He told police a truck had struck him from behind, throwing him to the pavement and then leaving the scene, according to the criminal complaint against Martin.

A witness to the crash provided investigators with a license plate number that led them to Martin’s Bartow Street home.

“Martin appeared unsteady on his feet and displayed glassy eyes which was evident under the porch light,” Pittsburgh Police Cmdr. Michael Pilyih wrote in the criminal complaint. “Martin continue(d) to act confused and slurred his speech during the entire encounter. Martin then denied he was on the (North Side) operating his vehicle tonight.”

After getting a search warrant, GPS data from Martin’s truck confirmed it was at the scene at the time of the crash, according to court documents. That and other evidence allegedly confirmed that he had spent about five hours at Tequila Cowboy, a North Shore bar, prior the crash.

Police reviewed security footage from the bar, in which “Martin is clearly observed at the bar consuming a total of eight 20-ounce Miller Lite beers and two shots,” according to a criminal complaint.

Martin has been placed on unpaid administrative leave, according to Pittsburgh Police Public Information Officer Cara Cruz. An attorney for Martin is not listed in court records.