Investigation continues into man's death after he was tasered by Pittsburgh police officer

Allegheny County Police continue to investigate an incident in which a Pittsburgh police officer tasered a man who died a day later.

Pittsburgh police did not identify the officer who deployed a Taser at least once against Jim Rogers, who died shortly after 10 a.m. Thursday.

About 24 hours earlier, someone in the city’s Bloomfield neighborhood called 911 to report an alleged theft in progress on Harriet Street. Neighbors told Tribune-Review news partner WPXI-TV that officers responded after a homeless man took a bicycle in someone’s front yard for a ride before returning it.

Investigators said that after police arrived, the man “became noncompliant” as he was taken into custody, and an officer deployed a Taser. It was not clear how many times the officer used the stun gun on Rogers.

A search of court records showed no recent charges in Allegheny County against anyone named Jim or James Rogers.

Police followed department policy by taking Rogers to the hospital to be cleared by doctors before he was transferred to Allegheny County Jail. Police said he “became unresponsive during the transport” and was admitted to the hospital in critical condition. He died the following day.

The Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office has not released Rogers’ cause or manner of death. Rogers was 54.

Beth Pittinger, executive director of the Citizen Police Review Board, said the most poignant observation when the board’s investigators went to the neighborhood was the hurt and trauma among witnesses. She said investigators assured them that what happened will be examined and looked at critically for any wrongdoing.

“That doesn’t change the trauma they’ve experienced. It doesn’t minimize what they went through,” she said. “Trying to be sensitive to that is probably the No. 1 thing – recognizing the humanity of neighbors and officers and everyone involved.”

The Allegheny County Police investigation into the incident means the review board has hit pause on its investigation until it’s determined whether any actions rise to the level of a crime.

Police policy regarding Taser deployment includes a list, albeit a vague one, of situations in which the use of a Taser “may be justified.” From the policy:

• When presented with a mentally ill individual who is exhibiting behavior that would lead an officer to use the Taser as a reasonable force option.
• Warrant service when the individual who is exhibiting behavior that would lead an officer to use the Taser as a reasonable force option.
• Persons under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol who are exhibiting behavior that would lead an officer to use the Taser as a reasonable force option.
• Persons expressing intent and having the means to commit suicide and who are exhibiting behavior that would lead an officer to use the Taser as a reasonable force option.
• When presented with an aggressive animal, the Taser can be a reasonable use of force option to protect against being bitten or attacked.

The policy also dictates that if an officer sees signs “indicating that the subject requires immediate medical treatment” after being struck with a Taser, medics “shall be summoned to the scene immediately.”

Pittinger said there are too many unanswered questions still hanging to draw any conclusions, like whether protocol was followed, why police were called in the first place, what the officer did when he first arrived on scene, whether it was reasonable and necessary to use force, and whether use of the Taser adhered to department policy.