Pittsburgh police officer pleads no contest to DUI charge involving hit-and-run

A Pittsburgh police officer pleaded no contest Thursday to charges involving a DUI and alleged hit-and-run on the North Side.

In exchange for Officer Brian Martin’s no contest plea, the Allegheny County District Attorney’s Office agreed to a mandatory minimum sentence of two to four days in jail and a probation period to be set by a judge, according to Mike Manko, a DA spokesman.

Martin was then sentenced to serve that jail time and a year of probation. He was also ordered to pay $999 in restitution.

Martin was off-duty when he allegedly struck and injured a bicyclist, Jeffrey Ruby, on June, 19 2019. The criminal complaint alleged that Martin fled the scene and was under the influence of alcohol.

According to the criminal complaint, Martin did not stop after striking Ruby with his pickup truck. Witnesses helped Ruby and recorded descriptions and a partial plate number for Martin’s black truck.

Officers found Martin’s address through the vehicle’s registration number. When they went to his house, according to the complaint, they found Martin “unsteady on his feet and displayed glassy eyes.” When officers asked questions about the incident, Martin slurred his speech and appeared confused, the complaint said. Martin denied he was on the North Side operating his vehicle that night.

But in the days following, officers issued a search warrant for Martin’s truck. A detective removed the truck’s digital data recorder to download GPS information, which indicated that the truck had been on the North Side the night of the incident. Using GPS coordinates, an officer located a city camera in the area and observed Marin park his truck outside of Tequila Cowboy and enter the bar.

The camera footage also showed Martin leaving the bar around 11 p.m.

“While walking to his truck it appears that Martin ‘stumbled,’” the complaint reads. “Arriving at the vehicle a companion appears to try and keep Martin from entering the truck but is pushed aside.”

Martin was charged with one count of accidents involving death or injury and one count of driving under the influence.