The Allegheny County District Attorney has filed a Right to Know request pertaining to the City of Pittsburgh's waiver of a competitive process.
DA Stephen Zappala has concerns about the Matrix Consulting Group's recommendation to reduce the city's patrol officer staffing by 188 officers.
Zappala contends that with the daily mandatory overtime assigned to Pittsburgh police officers coupled with the dangerous downward spiral of public safety, he sent the Right to Know request on August 3.
Zappala has cited several irregularities with the city's response.
Zappala said, "The use of public money by the city administration for a no-bid contract resulting in the Matrix reports recommending defunding the police while the city is torn by rising violence is irresponsible, dangerous and disturbing."
For that reason, Zappala has requested the records of all no bid contracts since January first 2020.
Mayor Ed Gainey released a statement late last week claiming Zappala is playing political games to get reelected.
Over the past 18 months, the number one priority of my administration has been making Pittsburgh the safest city in America, and we are beginning to see early signs of our success. Right now, homicides are down 20% year over year, and non-fatal shootings are down 14%.
Our goal is that we should have no losses of life in our city from gun violence, and we won't stop working until that job is done.
Contrary to reports, Downtown is rebounding after the pandemic. In July, tourism numbers surpassed pre-pandemic levels. So far this year 26 new businesses have opened and we anticipate another 12 opening soon. Cultural District attendance is over 80% of pre-pandemic levels. Our residential occupancy rate is over 90%. Not to mention the hundreds of thousands of people who enjoyed our summer festivals downtown, all without any major public safety incidents.
Once again, the District Attorney is focusing on getting reelected, and not doing any real work in helping make Pittsburgh safe. Our officers have worked hard to bring him all the information he needs to make a determination in several high-profile cases, like the Air BnB shooting, and he has yet to do his job and charge those responsible. Our city also deserves to have an answer as to the outcome of the Jim Rogers investigation. We sincerely hope that the DA will put more effort in answering those hard questions, bringing those who make our City less safe to justice, instead of making unfounded and misinformed attacks about the Mayor, his administration, and our hardworking and dedicated Pittsburgh Bureau of Police.
Zappala is running on the Republican ticket in this November's election against the Democrat who beat him in the primary, Matt Dugan.
