>>15243984
Jim Rogers reportedly asked for help at least 13 times as he sat in the back of a Pittsburgh police vehicle after being stunned with a taser eight times on Oct. 13.
For 17 minutes, Rogers banged his head off the seat and repeated, “‘I need a hospital, I can’t breathe, get a medic, help me,’” according to an executive summary of an internal police investigation report obtained by the Tribune-Review.
Yet, during the 17-minute span, two Pittsburgh emergency medical technicians at the scene never tended to Rogers, despite his pleas for help and officers on the scene acknowledging he needed assistance, the report said. Instead, the EMTs decontaminated police officers who had gotten Rogers’ blood on them.
Rogers, a 54-year-old Black man, who was homeless at the time of the incident, died the next day at a Pittsburgh hospital. Results of an autopsy have not been released.
“The (Pittsburgh police Critical Incident Review Board) has determined that this critical incident resulted from a series of compounding performance failures by (Pittsburgh police) personnel,” the report said.
It has been more than two months since the Bloomfield incident, and neither the city nor the Allegheny County District Attorney’s Office has announced any findings from their reviews — either the internal police review or the criminal investigation.
Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen A. Zappala Jr. said last week he was still waiting for the medical examiner’s office to release the cause and manner of death before making any decisions on whether charges should be filed against any of the officers involved.
Mayor Bill Peduto said last week that he planned to have any discipline of officers involved meted out before he leaves office in early January.
“It is an absolute tragedy that Jim Rogers lost his life while in Pittsburgh Police custody - a failure of a system that should have protected his life. This critical incident included multiple failures,” Peduto said in a written statement Tuesday evening. “Today’s announcement around pending disciplinary action and policy changes is a starting point. We must continue to make reforms in policing and within society to do what we can to make sure this never happens again and that Mr. Rogers’ family receives the justice they deserve.”
In a news release issued Tuesday afternoon, city police officials said that eight officers, including two supervisors, violated department policies and will face varying levels of discipline in accordance with the FOP collective bargaining agreement. A third supervisor retired last week.
“Jim Rogers will serve as a sober reminder of the tremendous responsibility all officers bear when they wear the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police badge,” said Police Chief Scott Schubert. “Every resident and visitor to the City of Pittsburgh is owed the highest standard of care when they are in the custody of Pittsburgh Police. In the case of Jim Rogers, we failed our fellow citizen. The disciplinary measures and procedural changes we are announcing today are intended to ensure a tragedy such as this never occurs again in the City of Pittsburgh.”
According to the department, immediately following the Rogers’ incident, all Pittsburgh police officers were required to complete a Taser refresher course followed by an exam — as well as annual, mandatory taser recertification.
In addition, the department will require its officers to become fully certified Emergency Medical Responders.
https://triblive.com/local/man-who-died-after-being-tased-by-pittsburgh-police-pleaded-for-medical-help-but-got-none-report-says/