PITTSBURGH — 11 Investigates saw a big dent running along the driver’s side of one of the new Public Safety Ambassador cars parked at the Zone 6 police station in the West End this week.
Chief Investigator Rick Earle questioned the Pittsburgh Public Safety Director Lee Schmidt about the accident last week.
“There was a crash that was not at fault by our employee but it’s under review also by the law department, and we’re investigating the details,” said Schmidt.
The city said it was a minor accident that happened on the afternoon of Aug. 8 on the Boulevard of the Allies, that the city employee was not at fault, and no one was hurt.
But complicating matters, sources tell 11 Investigates that the ambassador did not get any information from the person who hit her, and didn’t report the accident until later that same day.
Earle: It’s my understanding that the Public Safety Ambassador, the young woman, did not exchange information with the person who allegedly hit her, so you don’t know who it is?
Schmidt: We have info now. We just had to get it afterward.
Earle: Oh, you do.
Schmidt: Some information. Again, it’s with our law department, so we can’t really disclose too much.
When pressed by Earle, the Public Safety Director appeared to back off, and the Mayor’s Press Secretary, Olga George, stepped in.
Earle: So they’ve identified the woman who hit her?
Schmidt: I’m not sure if they have figured that out now.
George: It’s under investigation. He said that several times, come on. It’s under investigation. Let’s leave it at that.
Earle: Okay, it’s under investigation?
George: It’s under investigation. The law department has it.
Earle: No disciplinary action for the employee?
George: It’s under investigation. Everything is being reviewed.
11 Investigates reached out to the city again for clarification.
In an email to 11 Investigates on Friday afternoon, they said the driver has not been identified.
So, it’s unclear how they confirmed what happened.
Did a witness come forward, or was it captured on a surveillance camera?
The city hasn’t said.
They also said the Public Safety Ambassador in question has been reprimanded and received retraining in handling similar situations.
“The involved employee was reprimanded and has also received retraining with regard to proper protocol in handling similar situations in the future,” said Pittsburgh Public Safety.
The city hired four Public Safety Ambassadors to assist with police, but the union questioned the hirings and said they couldn’t do most of the jobs because those require certified police officers.
The city pivoted and decided to use the ambassadors out in the communities, engaging with residents and addressing quality-of-life issues.
The city had hired four ambassadors, but one quit.
After months of training, they were sent out into the communities in August.
The city has said they were going to hire a dozen more ambassadors, but so far, that has not happened.
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