An Allegheny County judge has reversed the reinstatement of a Pittsburgh Police officer who was fired in 2022 after repeatedly using a Taser during an arrest to shock a homeless man who later died.
In a ruling issued Wednesday, Common Pleas Judge Alan D. Hertzberg vacated the results of a 2-1 arbitration decision issued in March, which restored Keith Edmonds to the city police force. That decision meant that Edmonds was to receive full back pay and benefits, and his employee disciplinary record was to be cleared. Edmonds has remained off the force, however, while the case against him proceeded through disciplinary and arbitration processes. The president of the police union on Wednesday said he is “very disappointed” in Hertzberg’s ruling and vowed to appeal it.
Edmonds was fired in March 2022, five months after he shocked Jim Rogers with a Taser a reported 10 times during a 2021 arrest in Bloomfield. Police arrested Rogers while responding to a report of a stolen bicycle. The encounter was captured on police body cameras, which later was released publicly by an attorney for Roger’s family.
Rogers fell unconscious in the back of a police cruiser and died in a hospital the next day. His family later reached an $8 million settlement with the city after filing a federal wrongful-death lawsuit.
City officials disciplined nine officers involved in the incident and consistently asserted that police action led to Rogers’ death. Edmonds had appealed his firing through the Fraternal Order of Police, leading to the process in which a neutral arbitrator and another appointed by the FOP ruled in favor of reinstating him in March. In a statement Wednesday, Mayor Ed Gainey said the judge‘s ruling supported the city’s position that the neutral and FOP arbitrators “deprived the city of its due process rights by dishonestly finding that [Edmonds] did not violate a city policy, rule or regulation, when he admitted that he did and when the evidence of violations was overwhelming.”
“We’re thankful the court decision will allow the City of Pittsburgh to hold city employees responsible for their actions and ensure that every resident is treated with dignity and respect,” Gainey added. “We are hopeful that this ruling will allow us to close a painful chapter for all those involved in connection to the passing of Jim Rogers.”
Community organizations and policy accountability activists have decried officer actions during Rogers’ arrest as well as the overall police disciplinary process. The Alliance for Police Accountability, the Black Political Empowerment Project and the Pittsburgh branch of the NAACP praised the Gainey administration for continuing to pursue its appeal of Edmonds’ reinstatement.
In a joint statement Wednesday, the three groups also noted that Hertzberg, in his ruling, found that the majority arbitrators in Edmonds’ case deprived the city of due process and exceeded their authority by overstepping in the city’s right to manage its officers, which “underscores the urgent need for reform in how law enforcement misconduct is addressed.” They called the ruling a “necessary and long-overdue step toward ensuring greater accountability within our policing systems.”
“The fact that the City of Pittsburgh had to appeal to overturn an arbitration award that reinstated an officer, despite compelling evidence of misconduct, highlights deeper systemic issues within the arbitration process,” the groups said in their statement.
“This system has often obstructed true accountability, allowing officers who have breached the community's trust to evade significant consequences … We take great pride in this historic victory for justice and the community,” the statement continued. “We call upon city officials, leaders of law enforcement, and every stakeholder to rise with a renewed commitment to overhaul the arbitration process.”
But Fraternal Order of Police Lodge No. 1 President Robert Swartzwelder said he anticipates that state courts will overturn Hertzberg’s ruling and reinstate the arbitration award “due to the blatant deviation from legal precedent.”
“To insinuate that the [arbitration] panel was dishonest in any manner is professionally unethical and clearly without evidence,” Swartzwelder said. “The medical evidence overwhelmingly demonstrated that Officer Edmonds did not cause the unfortunate death of Jim Rogers. It seems local politics are at play here rather than legal binding precedent."
Of the other eight officers who were initially disciplined after Rogers’ death, two have retired and “most of the others” have been reinstated with back pay and benefits, Swartzwelder said.
WESA reporter Kiley Koscinski contributed to this story.
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