Nothing would be easier than to look at a bar fight involving police officers as an opportunity to talk about bad behavior by law enforcement.
But that story isn’t written yet. Charges have been filed against Pittsburgh Det. Richard L. Dilimone Jr., 36, of Adams Township, Butler County, in connection with a February incident at the Pleasure Bar in Pleasant Hills — and the facts are still unfolding.
This isn’t about a bar fight. It’s about what came after.
Dilimone was placed on administrative leave pending resolution of the case. Chief Jason Lando also placed three other detectives on leave.
The department did not name the other detectives. Jake Flickinger, Kyle Briggs and Brayden Davies were identified only after a Right-To-Know Law request filed by TribLive.
Releasing that information without making the public jump through the hoops of state law would have signaled a fresh approach.
Lando is new to the position — the choice of new Mayor Corey O’Connor — and this was an opportunity to clearly signal openness is a priority.
The Right-to-Know Law is a mechanism for people to obtain information from the government — information that rightly belongs to them.
But it can become a scavenger hunt, with rules on both sides that turn a simple request into a time-consuming game. Some agencies route every inquiry through the process.
They may require their own forms. They can take every minute of the first five days to respond — and then request an extension, resetting the clock by another 30 days. Appeal the decision? That adds another two weeks.
O’Connor says he wants to streamline city government and make things work more easily.
“My goal as mayor is to see growth across Pittsburgh and to have a transparent and efficient city government that works for you,” he said this month.
That was in the context of permitting reforms meant to cut red tape.
There is no requirement for government to make anyone run through the Right-To-Know obstacle course to obtain information. It should be the exception, not the rule — and the rule is that public information is public.
A transparent and efficient city government could start by having its departments, including the Bureau of Police, default to that.
That opportunity has passed.
But nothing would be easier than to make that decision going forward.
