A judge on Wednesday overruled an arbitration board’s decision to reinstate a Pittsburgh cop fired for his role in the death of a homeless man suspected of trying to steal a bike.
Officer Keith Edmonds was dismissed in March 2022, five months after shocking Jim Rogers with a Taser 10 times. The encounter was captured on police body cameras.
“They are horrendous to see,” said Citizen Police Review Board Executive Director Elizabeth Pittinger. “The inhumanity that we observe in those videos is just unconscionable.”
The city settled a lawsuit from Rogers’ family for $8 million. But Edmonds argued his actions had nothing to do with Roger’s death and won his appeal before the arbitration board by a 2-1 vote.
In his ruling, Judge Alan D. Hertzberg wrote that two arbitrators who supported Edmonds’ reinstatement “deprived the city of its due process rights by dishonestly finding that police officer Keith Edmonds did not violate a city policy, rule or regulation, when he admitted that he did and when the evidence of violations was overwhelming.”
Fraternal Order of Police Lodge No. 1 President Robert Swartzwelder, one of the arbitrators singled out by Hertzberg, called the decision a “blatant deviation from legal precedent” and predicted a state court will overturn it.
“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.”
Police watchdogs applauded the decision. In a statement, the Pittsburgh branch of the NAACP called the ruling “an essential step forward and must be recognized as only the beginning of a broader movement for justice.”
Rogers, already in custody, told officers he could not breathe and requested hospitalization. But body cam footage showed officers delayed leaving the scene until EMS workers arrived to treat their injuries. By the time Rogers got to the hospital two blocks away, he was unconscious and later died.
“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,” Mayor Ed Gainey said. “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.”
Gainey’s administration has fired 16 officers since 2022, an increase from the previous administration led by Mayor Bill Peduto, which dismissed 10 officers from 2018 to 2021, according to statistics obtained by a Pittsburgh advocacy group.
“I think the message is loud and clear, that police misconduct will not be tolerated,” said Brandi Fisher, president of the Alliance for Police Accountability.
