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Service held to remember Jonny Gammage's 1995 death | TribLIVE.com
Pittsburgh

Service held to remember Jonny Gammage's 1995 death

Shane Dunlap
Shane Dunlap
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Bishop Loran Mann, of Pittsburgh’s Pentecostal Temples Church of God in Christ, delivers a brief reading to a gathering of Pittsburgh-area clergy during a memorial service for Jonny Gammage, on Sunday at Seton Overbook Senior Center located near Saw Mill Run Boulevard in Pittsburgh. Jonny Gammage, a local Black businessman, was killed in October 1995 by police near Frank and Shirley’s Diner on State Route 51.
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A procession of ecumenical clergy from across various churches in Pittsburgh walks past Frank and Shirley’s Diner on Sunday on Saw Mill Run Boulevard between Carrick and Overbrook neighborhoods in Pittsburgh. The procession of clergy, including some from historical Black churches in Pittsburgh, were conducting a memorial service for Jonny Gammage, who was killed by police next to Frank and Shirley’s Diner in October, 1995.
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Luke Zerra, from Saint Paul’s Episcopal Church in Mount Lebanon, participates in a procession and memorial for Jonny Gammage, on Sunday at Seton Overbook Senior Center located near Saw Mill Run Boulevard in Pittsburgh. Jonny Gammage, a local Black businessman, was killed in October 1995 by police along State Route 51 in Pittsburgh.
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Rev. Charles L. Fischer III, from the Diocese of Pittsburgh, at left, leads a group of clergy from across various denominations in Pittsburgh during a liturgy procession and memorial for Jonny Gammage, on Sunday at Seton Overbook Senior Center located near Saw Mill Run Boulevard in Pittsburgh.
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Luke Zerra, and his wife, Laura DiPanfilo, left, from Saint Paul’s in Mount Lebanon, participate with ecumenical clergy from across Pittsburgh in a liturgy and memorial service for Jonny Gammage, on Sunday at Frank and Shirley’s Diner, where Gammage was killed by police 25 years ago, on Saw Mill Run Boulevard in Pittsburgh.
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Bishop Dorsey McConnell, center, leads a procession of ecumenical clergy from various denominations across the Pittsburgh region in a liturgy and memorial for Jonny Gammage on All Saints Day, Sunday at Seton Overbook Center located near Saw Mill Run Boulevard in Pittsburgh.
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Bishop Cynthia Moore-Koikoi, of Mars, from The United Methodist Church, addresses a gathering of ecumenical clergy from the Diocese of Pittsburgh during a liturgy and memorial service for Jonny Gammage, a local Black businessman who was killed by police 25 years, on Sunday at Seton Overbook Center located near Saw Mill Run Boulevard in Pittsburgh, a location near where Gammage was killed.
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A group of ecumenical clergy from various congregations across the Pittsburgh region participate in a memorial service for Jonny Gammage on Sunday at Seton Overbook Center located near Saw Mill Run Boulevard in Pittsburgh. In October 1995, Jonny Gammage, a local Black businessman, was killed by police near Frank and Shirley’s Diner on State Route 51 after a traffic stop by a Brentwood police officer.

Prayers for mercy, justice, healing and peace were offered up Sunday to mark the 25th anniversary of the death of Jonny Gammage.

Gammage was 31 when he died Oct. 12, 1995, in Pittsburgh near Brentwood, after a traffic stop.

Brentwood police stopped him after noticing him braking frequently as he drove a Jaguar. The car belonged to his cousin, Pittsburgh Steelers defensive end Ray Seals.

Police officers from Brentwood, Baldwin and Whitehall tackled Gammage, handcuffed and pinned him on the ground in an attempt to subdue him. Gammage died of suffocation.

Authorities charged three officers with voluntary manslaughter. One officer was acquitted at trial. Charges against two others were dropped after two mistrials.

Pittsburgh Episcopal Bishop Dorsey McConnell lead a group of ecumenical clergy in prayers near the site where Gammage died. The clergy include priests of the Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh and local leaders of other Christian denominations, including pastors of several historic Black churches.

The prayers ask for mercy, justice, healing and peace. The service recalled not only the life of Gammage, but also named 38 other individuals who died unjustly.

Shane Dunlap is a TribLive photographer covering Westmoreland and Allegheny counties. He grew up in the Ohio Valley near Pittsburgh and has worked for newspapers as far away as Fayetteville, N.C., where he covered the U.S. Army at Fort Liberty. He can be reached at sdunlap@triblive.com.

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