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Target 11 Exclusive: Two bicycle officers accused of stealing city time

PITTSBURGH — Target 11 Investigator Rick Earle has learned two Pittsburgh Police officers, who are members of the bicycle unit, have been placed on administrative leave after allegedly turning in time cards with hours they never worked.

Law enforcement sources tell Earle a supervisor became suspicious of the officers and, using an undercover vehicle, set up surveillance outside the homes of the officers. Surveillance discovered they were still at home when their time cards indicated they were working.

The executive director of the Pittsburgh Police Citizen Review Board praised the efforts of the supervisor who took action.

“I think that this particular incident reflects very positively on the supervisory monitoring that we’re seeing in the bureau these days, and it’s different. They’ve changed in the last several years, and they’re being more attentive to the kinds of abuses of the system that some officers have engaged in,” said Pittinger.

Target 11 also learned that, according to sources, the two officers were allowed to phone in at the beginning of the overtime shifts, instead of reporting to duty in-person at the station.

Pittinger said the overtime detail raises a lot of questions, such as who authorized the overtime, why it was authorized, and how the officers’ work was being evaluated.

“How is that justified? Who defined that detail? Who decided it was necessary to dispatch these bike officers, and why? Why? And apparently they weren’t doing it, so what’s the assessment afterwards? How are you evaluating what you sent them out to do, or is it just to have an officer presence? Do we need one? Are these high crime potential dangerous areas?” said Pittinger.