Pittsburgh Police
Encyclopedia
The Pittsburgh Police, or officially the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police, is the largest law enforcement agency
Law enforcement agency
In North American English, a law enforcement agency is a government agency responsible for the enforcement of the laws.Outside North America, such organizations are called police services. In North America, some of these services are called police while others have other names In North American...

 in Western Pennsylvania
Western Pennsylvania
Western Pennsylvania consists of the western third of the state of Pennsylvania in the United States. Pittsburgh is the largest city in the region, with a metropolitan area population of about 2.4 million people, and serves as its economic and cultural center. Erie, Altoona, and Johnstown are its...

 and the third largest in Pennsylvania. The modern force of salaried and professional officers was founded in 1857 but dates back to the night watchmen beginning in 1794, and the subsequent day patrols in the early 19th century, in the then borough of Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...

. By 1952 the Bureau had a strength of 1400 sworn officers. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=RT0dAAAAIBAJ&sjid=lU0EAAAAIBAJ&dq=pieper&pg=1665%2C4604992

Organization

The Pittsburgh Bureau of Police is part of the Pittsburgh Department of Public Safety
Department of Public Safety
The Department of Public Safety , also called an Office of Public Safety, is a state or local government umbrella agency in the United States which serves to assist the certain agencies in their services by providing administrative, financial, and technical services and support for core public...

 and is headed by Chief Nathan Harper
Nathan Harper
Nathan Earnest Harper I is the Chief of the Pittsburgh Police, a position he has held since October 31, 2006. Prior to this appointment he was the longtime "Assistant Chief in Charge" of the Investigations Branch. In the 1990's Harper spearheaded the formation of the city's Street Response Unit...

 appointed by Mayor Luke Ravenstahl
Luke Ravenstahl
Luke Robert Ravenstahl is the current Mayor of Pittsburgh. In September 2006, he became the youngest mayor in Pittsburgh's history at the age of 26. He is among the youngest mayors of a major city in American history....

 and approved by City Council. The Chief of Police is the top law enforcement agent of the city of Pittsburgh. In the Chiefs council are the positions of
  • Deputy Chief of Police Bureau
  • Chief of Staff Pittsburgh Police
  • Public Affairs Manager Pittsburgh Police
  • Legal Advisor to Pittsburgh Police


Reporting directly through the Deputy Chief of Police to the Chief are the three active units of the Police Bureau: Operations, Investigations, and Administration. Each one is headed by an Assistant Chief.

Operations Unit

Headed by the Assistant Chief of Operations, this unit is the most visible arm of the Pittsburgh Police Bureau. It consists six zones (the updated form of precincts) with each zone being supervised by the zone commander, as well as all zone patrol and response operations, SWAT team, Traffic patrol, and Impound. This is also the unit that does community policing.

The six Pittsburgh Police zones are:
  • Zone One: Northside
  • Zone Two: Downtown, Hill District, Strip District, Lawrenceville
  • Zone Three: Southside, Beltzhoover, Carrick
    Carrick (Pittsburgh)
    Carrick is a south neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in the United States. It is served by two zip codes, 15210 and 15227, and has representation on Pittsburgh City Council by the council member for District 4 with a part in District 3.Located between the suburbs of the South Hills and...

    , St. Clair Village
    St. Clair Village
    St. Clair Village is a public housing project of the Pittsburgh Housing Authority. Originally built in the 1950's, with 680 apartments, it fell into disrepair and financial difficulty along with much public housing in the city and was completely demolished in September 2010 It occupied the...

    , Arlington Heights
  • Zone Four: Universities, Oakland, Squirrel Hill, Shadyside, Point Breeze
  • Zone Five: East Liberty, Highland Park, Homewood
  • Zone Six: West End, Banksville, Brookline, Beechview


If you wish to find out which zone you live in, you can check this list of neighborhoods or this map.

Investigations Unit

Headed by the Assistant Chief of Investigations Maurita Bryant, this unit overlays the operations staff with the detective and inspector corps of the Police Bureau. Its detective divisions are broken down into the following:
  • Auto taskforce
  • Arson Squad
  • Burglary Squad
  • Crime Stoppers
  • Crime Scene Investigators
  • Dignitary & Witness Security
  • Forfeiture
  • Gang Task Force
  • Homicide Squad
  • Missing Persons
  • Narcotics
  • Night Felony Squad
  • Nuisance Bar Task Force
  • Pawn
  • Robbery Squad
  • Sex Assault/Domestic Violence Squad
  • Financial Crimes Task Force

Administration Unit

Headed by the Assistant Chief of Administration, this is the least visible unit of the bureau but one that is possibly the most essential. It consists of eight major divisions.
  • Intel (Crime Analysis)
  • Police Academy/Training
  • Personnel & Finance
  • School Patrol
  • Special Events Logistics
  • Warrant Office
  • Records
  • Property Room
  • Office of Municipal Investigations (Internal Affairs)

Ranks of the Pittsburgh Police

Title Insignia
Chief of Department
Deputy Chief
Assistant Chief
Commander
Lieutenant
Lieutenant
A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...

Sergeant
Sergeant
Sergeant is a rank used in some form by most militaries, police forces, and other uniformed organizations around the world. Its origins are the Latin serviens, "one who serves", through the French term Sergent....

Detective/Police Officer

Structure

  • Nate Harper - Chief of Police
  • Paul Donaldson - Deputy Chief
  • Regina McDonald - Assistant Chief (Administration)
  • William Bochter - Assistant Chief (Operations)
  • Maurita Bryant - Assistant Chief (Investigations)
  • RaShall Brackney - Commander (Zone 1 - North Side)
  • George Trosky - Commander (Zone 2 - Hill District)
  • Cathy McNeilly - Commander (Zone 3 - Allentown)
  • Richard Reilly - Commander(acting) (Zone 4 - Squirrel Hill)
  • Kevin Kraus - Commander (Zone 5 - Highland Park)
  • Scott Schubert - Commander (Zone 6 - SDD / West End)
  • Thomas Stangrecki - Commander (Major Crimes)
  • Cheryl Doubt - Commander (Narcotics & Vice)
  • Linda Barone - Commander (Support Services)

Civil Rights Abuses and the 1997 Consent Decree

In 1996, after the deaths of two African-American men in Police custody, the ACLU and the NAACP filed a class action lawsuit against the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police, alleging a pattern of civil rights abuses. After an investigation, the US Justice Department
United States Department of Justice
The United States Department of Justice , is the United States federal executive department responsible for the enforcement of the law and administration of justice, equivalent to the justice or interior ministries of other countries.The Department is led by the Attorney General, who is nominated...

 joined the suit in January 1997, stating "that there is a pattern or practice of conduct by law enforcement officers of the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police that deprives persons of rights, privileges, and immunities secured and protected by the Constitution and laws of the United States."

After a brief court challenge, the City entered into a consent decree
Consent decree
A consent decree is a final, binding judicial decree or judgment memorializing a voluntary agreement between parties to a suit in return for withdrawal of a criminal charge or an end to a civil litigation...

 with the Federal Government in April 1997 that outlined the steps that it would take to improve its conduct. The decree was lifted from the Police Bureau in 2001, and from the Office of Municipal Investigation in 2002.

Further, community activists in Pittsburgh successfully used a referendum
Referendum
A referendum is a direct vote in which an entire electorate is asked to either accept or reject a particular proposal. This may result in the adoption of a new constitution, a constitutional amendment, a law, the recall of an elected official or simply a specific government policy. It is a form of...

 to create an independent review board in 1997.

Despite these measures, tensions remain between the Police Bureau and African-Americans in Pittsburgh. A study commissioned by the US Department Of Justice in 2001 found that 70% of Pittsburgh's African-American residents believe it either "very common" or "somewhat common" for "police officers in Pittsburgh to use excessive force" and that only 48% feel that the Police are doing a "very good" or "somewhat good" "job of fighting crime, while 77% of white residents responded so.

Special hat bands

The Pittsburgh police wear hats with checkered bands, popularly known as the 'Sillitoe Tartan
Sillitoe Tartan
The Sillitoe Tartan is the name given to the distinctive black and white chequered pattern which was originally associated with the police in Scotland, but which later spread to Australia, New Zealand, and the rest of the United Kingdom, as well as to some other places such as Chicago...

' and named after its originator, Percy J. Sillitoe
Percy Sillitoe
Sir Percy Joseph Sillitoe KBE was Director General of MI5, the United Kingdom's internal security service, from 1946 to 1953...

, Chief Constable of Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...

, Scotland in the 1930s. While the checkered band is a common police symbol in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

 and some European countries, the Chicago Police Department
Chicago Police Department
The Chicago Police Department, also known as the CPD, is the principal law enforcement agency of Chicago, Illinois, in the United States, under the jurisdiction of the Mayor of Chicago. It is the largest police department in the Midwest and the second largest local law enforcement agency in the...

, Cook County Sheriff's Police, San Ricardo Police Department and the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police are the only police forces in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 that have adopted it as part of their uniforms.

Pittsburgh Police Medals

The Pittsburgh Police have several honors and medals including:

  • Medal of Valor

The highest honor of any Pittsburgh Police officer. It is awarded only for acts occurring in the most exceptional of circumstances. Recognizing acts of bravery and heroism in the protection of life, while taking on great personal risk and without compromising any bureau mission.
  • Valor Ribbon:


Awarded along with the Medal of Valor.
  • Commendation:


Open to members and non-members of the Pittsburgh Police Bureau who have displayed initiative in performing tasks above and beyond that which is required in a professional manner. In 2007 38 officers received Commendations.
  • Purple Heart:


To those who in the course of criminal apprehension efforts, sustained serious injury, disability or wounds. In 2007 three officers received this award.
  • Meritorious Service:


Open to all officers who have distinguished themselves in exhibiting professional excellence in their tasks or duties. As well as those that contribute significantly towards improving the objectives of the bureau. In 2007 sixteen officers received this award.
  • Bureau of Police Citation:


Open to all officers and non-members who performed a task of bravery or heroism above and beyond the call of duty and in the face of great personal risk in life-saving or life-protecting circumstances. In 2007 nine officers were recognized.
  • Officer of the Month:


Selected by committee of the Chief, Deputy Chief and three Assistant Chiefs from a single nomination from each zone commander, there can be more than one selected per month.
  • Officer of the Year:


Selected from all officers of the months and all officers receiving commendations through the year by committee of the Chief, Deputy Chief and all three Assistant Chiefs.

2009 police shooting

On April 4, 2009, three Pittsburgh police officers were killed in the line of duty while responding to a domestic disturbance in the Stanton Heights area of the city. The officers, all from the Zone 5 station are Eric Kelly, a 14-year veteran of the Bureau, Stephen Mayhle, and Paul Sciullo II, both two-year veterans. Two other officers were injured. Timothy McManaway was shot in the hand trying to help Officer Kelly, and Brian Jones broke his leg when a fence collapsed. Police Chief Nathan Harper said Officer Mayhle was married and had two children; Officer Kelly was married and had three children; and Officer Sciullo was single.

Fictional portrayals

The Pittsburgh Police have been featured in many television and film portrayals. Among them:

Television

  • Vic Cianca
    Vic Cianca
    Victor S. "Vic" Cianca, Sr. was a famous traffic police officer from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania who spent his entire career with the Pittsburgh Police Bureau retiring January 4, 1983 His flamboyant style of directing traffic led to appearances on the television program Candid Camera in 1964, and...

     a traffic-cop was featured in Candid Camera
    Candid Camera
    Candid Camera is a hidden camera/practical joke reality television series created and produced by Allen Funt, which initially began on radio as Candid Microphone June 28, 1947...

     winning an annual prize from the show in 1965 and subsequently featured in Budweiser
    Budweiser
    Budweiser is a German adjective describing something or someone from the city of České Budějovice in Southern Bohemia, Czech Republic.Beer brewing in České Budějovice dates back to the 13th century...

     commercials, on Italian
    Italy
    Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

     TV and a cameo in Flashdance
    Flashdance
    Another song used in the film, "Maniac", was also nominated for an Academy Award. It was written by Michael Sembello and Dennis Matkosky, and was inspired by the 1980 horror film Maniac. The lyrics about a killer on the loose were rewritten so that it could be used in Flashdance...

    .
  • Hill Street Blues
    Hill Street Blues
    Hill Street Blues is an American serial police drama that was first aired on NBC in 1981 and ran for 146 episodes on primetime into 1987. Chronicling the lives of the staff of a single police precinct in an unnamed American city, the show received critical acclaim and its production innovations ...

     What is now Pittsburgh's Zone 2 "Hill District" (not Street) station was the inspiration for the show.
  • COPS
    COPS (TV series)
    Cops is an American documentary/reality television series that follows police officers, constables, and sheriff's deputies during patrols and other police activities...

     seven episodes in the 1990s, several others in the mid first decade of the 21st century
  • The X Files, The Pittsburgh Police feature as a backdrop to four Pittsburgh and Western Pennsylvania
    Western Pennsylvania
    Western Pennsylvania consists of the western third of the state of Pennsylvania in the United States. Pittsburgh is the largest city in the region, with a metropolitan area population of about 2.4 million people, and serves as its economic and cultural center. Erie, Altoona, and Johnstown are its...

     based episodes.
  • Smith
    Smith (TV series)
    Smith is an American television drama that premiered on September 16, 2006 at 10:00 PM ET on CBS and on September 18, 2006 on CTV in Canada...

     The Pittsburgh police chase Ray Liotta
    Ray Liotta
    [File:Ray Liotta is an American actor, best known for his portrayal of Henry Hill in the crime-drama Goodfellas, directed by Martin Scorsese and his role as Shoeless Joe Jackson in Field of Dreams...

     and Amy Smart
    Amy Smart
    Amy Lysle Smart is an American television and film actress and former fashion model.-Early life:Smart was born in Topanga, California. Her mother, Judy Lysle , worked at a museum, and her father, John Boden Smart, was a salesman...

     among others after a heist at the fictional tanner museum (actual Mellon Institute of Industrial Research
    Mellon Institute of Industrial Research
    Mellon Institute of Industrial Research, founded in 1913 by Andrew W. Mellon and Richard B. Mellon, merged with the Carnegie Institute of Technology in 1967 to form Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States...

    ). The chase passes through the David L. Lawrence Convention Center
    David L. Lawrence Convention Center
    The David L. Lawrence Convention Center is a convention, conference and exhibition building in downtown Pittsburgh in the U.S. commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The initial David L...

     and past PNC Park
    PNC Park
    PNC Park is a baseball park located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It is the fifth home of the Pittsburgh Pirates, the city's Major League Baseball franchise. It opened during the 2001 Major League Baseball season, after the controlled implosion of the Pirates' previous home, Three Rivers Stadium...

     onto the Ohio River
    Ohio River
    The Ohio River is the largest tributary, by volume, of the Mississippi River. At the confluence, the Ohio is even bigger than the Mississippi and, thus, is hydrologically the main stream of the whole river system, including the Allegheny River further upstream...

     and is complete with diversionary explosions and human decoys.
  • The Guardian
    The Guardian (TV series)
    The Guardian is an American drama series which aired on CBS from September 25, 2001 to May 4, 2004. It is currently showing in re-runs on the Sleuth Channel in the US. The Guardian has also aired in the United Kingdom on the Hallmark Channel, ABC1 and more recently five USA and as of August...

     Simon Baker
    Simon Baker
    Simon Baker is an Australian actor. Since 2008, he has starred in the CBS television series The Mentalist.-Early life:...

    , Dabney Coleman
    Dabney Coleman
    Dabney Wharton Coleman is an American actor, best known for his roles in 9 to 5, WarGames, You've Got Mail, Sworn to Silence, The Beverly Hillbillies and as the voice of Principal Peter Prickly in Recess and Recess: School's Out.-Early life:Coleman was born in Austin, Texas, the son of Mary...

     and Farrah Fawcett
    Farrah Fawcett
    Farrah Fawcett was an American actress and artist. A multiple Golden Globe and Emmy Award nominee, Fawcett rose to international fame when she first appeared as private investigator Jill Munroe in the first season of the television series Charlie's Angels, in 1976...

     (along with a cameo by Will Ferrell
    Will Ferrell
    John William "Will" Ferrell is an American comedian, impressionist, actor, and writer. Ferrell first established himself in the late 1990s as a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live, and has subsequently starred in the comedy films Old School, Elf, Anchorman, Talladega...

    ) all work with the police and are the subject of some police investigations in this deep drama about life and redemption.
  • Sirens
    Sirens (TV series)
    Sirens is an American crime drama series that aired on ABC in 1993, and then in syndication from 1994 to 1995.-Synopsis:Sirens focused on the work and lives of three rookie female Pittsburgh Police officers...

     mid-90's ABC series about female Pittsburgh Police officers.
  • The Kill Point
    The Kill Point
    The Kill Point is a television series that follows a group of U.S. Marines recently returned from serving in Iraq as they come together to pull off a major bank heist of a Three Rivers Bank branch in Pittsburgh. The series, produced by Mandeville Films and Lionsgate Television, is the first drama...

     2007 cable mini-series in which the Pittsburgh Police led by Donnie Wahlberg
    Donnie Wahlberg
    Donald Edward "Donnie" Wahlberg, Jr. is an American singer, actor and film producer. He is a member of the popular 1980s and 1990s boy band New Kids on the Block. His work background includes music, feature films, and television...

     and the FBI attempt to handle a downtown bank robbery led by John Leguizamo
    John Leguizamo
    Jonathan Alberto "John" Leguizamo is an Colombian-American actor, producer, voice artist, and comedian.-Early life:...

     that turns into a hostage situation.
  • Blacks and Blue 1998 NBC News series with Geraldo Rivera
    Geraldo Rivera
    Geraldo Rivera is an American attorney, journalist, author, reporter, and former talk show host...

     reporting on the bureau's operations. http://www.post-gazette.com/columnists/19981023tony.asp

Film

  • Flashdance
    Flashdance
    Another song used in the film, "Maniac", was also nominated for an Academy Award. It was written by Michael Sembello and Dennis Matkosky, and was inspired by the 1980 horror film Maniac. The lyrics about a killer on the loose were rewritten so that it could be used in Flashdance...

    features several Pittsburgh cops during different scenes, most notably candid camera
    Candid Camera
    Candid Camera is a hidden camera/practical joke reality television series created and produced by Allen Funt, which initially began on radio as Candid Microphone June 28, 1947...

     fame Vic Cianca
    Vic Cianca
    Victor S. "Vic" Cianca, Sr. was a famous traffic police officer from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania who spent his entire career with the Pittsburgh Police Bureau retiring January 4, 1983 His flamboyant style of directing traffic led to appearances on the television program Candid Camera in 1964, and...

    's cameo appearance with star Jennifer Beals
    Jennifer Beals
    Jennifer Beals is an American actress and a former teen model. She is known for her roles as Alexandra "Alex" Owens in the 1983 film Flashdance, and as Bette Porter on the Showtime drama series The L Word. She earned an NAACP Image Award and a Golden Globe Award nomination for the former...

    .
  • Desperate Measures Pittsburgh Police double for San Franciscans as Andy García
    Andy García
    Andrés Arturo García Menéndez , professionally known as Andy García, is a Cuban American actor. He became known in the late 1980s and 1990s, having appeared in several successful Hollywood films, including The Godfather: Part III, The Untouchables, Internal Affairs and When a Man Loves a Woman...

     hunts a demented Michael Keaton
    Michael Keaton
    Michael John Douglas , better known by the stage name Michael Keaton, is an American actor known for his early comedic roles, most notably his performance as the title character of Tim Burton's Beetlejuice . Keaton is also famous for his dramatic portrayal of Bruce Wayne/Batman in Tim Burton's...

     within the maze of corridors that form One Mellon Center
    One Mellon Center
    BNY Mellon Center is the second tallest skyscraper in downtown Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Located at 500 Grant Street, it was completed in 1982-1983 and originally built to be the world headquarters of the Dravo Corporation...

     and the Allegheny County Courthouse
    Allegheny County Courthouse
    Allegheny County Courthouse is a government building of Allegheny County located in the county seat, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.- Early structures:...

     portraying a 'hospital'.
  • Dawn of the Dead Pittsburgh Police—among others—mount a defense against zombies in this political satire against "mall culture"
  • Sudden Death
    Sudden Death (film)
    Sudden Death is a 1995 American action film starring Jean-Claude Van Damme and Powers Boothe. The film's story was written by Karen Elise Baldwin, the wife of then-Penguins owner Howard Baldwin. It also features Dorian Harewood and Raymond J. Barry, and is directed by Peter Hyams. It has been...

    Pittsburgh Police and SWAT respond to the U.S. Vice President being held hostage at the Stanley Cup Finals
    Stanley Cup Finals
    The Stanley Cup Finals is the championship series to determine the winner of the Stanley Cup, emblematic of the professional club championship of ice hockey. Although the Cup itself has existed since 1893, an annual championship series between professional teams was not established until 1913...

     at Mellon Arena
    Mellon Arena
    Civic Arena is an indoor arena in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania that is currently undergoing demolition. It was the first retractable roof major sports venue in the world, covering 170,000 sq. feet and constructed with just shy of 3,000 tons of Pittsburgh steel...

     while Jean Claude Van Damme provides the heroics.
  • Striking Distance
    Striking Distance
    Striking Distance is a 1993 thriller starring Bruce Willis, Sarah Jessica Parker, Dennis Farina, and Tom Sizemore as Pittsburgh Police officers pursuing a serial killer. It was directed by Rowdy Herrington and written by Herrington and Marty Kaplan...

    high drama film about corruption and coverups where Bruce Willis
    Bruce Willis
    Walter Bruce Willis , better known as Bruce Willis, is an American actor, producer, and musician. His career began in television in the 1980s and has continued both in television and film since, including comedic, dramatic, and action roles...

    , Sarah Jessica Parker
    Sarah Jessica Parker
    Sarah Jessica Parker is an American film, television, and theater actress and producer.She is best known for her leading role as Carrie Bradshaw on the HBO television series Sex and the City , for which she won four Golden Globe Awards, three Screen Actors Guild Awards, and two Emmy Awards...

     and Dennis Farina
    Dennis Farina
    Dennis Farina is an American actor of film and television and former Chicago police officer. He is a character actor, often typecast as a mobster or police officer. His most known film roles are those of mobster Jimmy Serrano in the comedy Midnight Run and Ray "Bones" Barboni in Get Shorty...

     play Pittsburgh police officers.
  • Screwed a comedy about a shrewd Pittsburgh Police detective and a kidnapping gone crazy with help from Dave Chappelle
    Dave Chappelle
    David Khari Webber "Dave" Chappelle is an American comedian, screenwriter, television/film producer, actor, and artist. Chappelle began his film career in the film Robin Hood: Men in Tights in 1993 and continued to star in minor roles in the films The Nutty Professor, Con Air, and Blue Streak. His...

     and Norm McDonald
    Norm McDonald
    Norm McDonald was an Australian rules footballer of Aboriginal heritage.He played in the Essendon premiership teams in 1949 and 1950. He won the Essendon Best and Fairest award in 1951.-External links:* -References:*...

    .
  • Wonder Boys
    Wonder Boys (film)
    Wonder Boys is a dark comedy film based on the 1995 novel of the same title by Michael Chabon. Directed by Curtis Hanson, it stars Michael Douglas as professor Grady Tripp, a novelist who teaches creative writing at an unnamed Pittsburgh university...

    a "Boy Scout" hounds Michael Douglas
    Michael Douglas
    Michael Kirk Douglas is an American actor and producer, primarily in movies and television. He has won three Golden Globes and two Academy Awards; first as producer of 1975's Best Picture, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, and as Best Actor in 1987 for his role in Wall Street. Douglas received the...

    ' character in the morning hours at the professor's house.
  • Hoffa
    Hoffa
    Hoffa is a 1992 biographical film directed by Danny DeVito and written by David Mamet, based on the life of Teamsters Union leader Jimmy Hoffa. Jack Nicholson plays Hoffa, and Danny DeVito plays Hoffa's fictional longtime friend Robert "Bobby" Ciaro, an amalgamation of several Hoffa associates over...

    a motorcycle cop in 1960's urban America pulls over Danny DeVito
    Danny DeVito
    Daniel Michael DeVito, Jr. , better known as Danny DeVito, is an American actor, comedian, director and producer. He first gained prominence for his portrayal of Louie De Palma on the ABC and NBC television series Taxi , for which he won a Golden Globe and an Emmy.DeVito and his wife, Rhea Perlman,...

    's character outside of Gateway Center
    Gateway Center (Pittsburgh)
    The Gateway Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania is a high-rise building complex with of office space in four buildings. Gateway Center was purchased in 2004 by Hertz Investment Group, a Los Angeles, California based real estate investment company, for US$55 million...

    .
  • Boys on the Side
    Boys on the Side
    Boys on the Side is a 1995 comedy-drama film directed by Herbert Ross . It stars Whoopi Goldberg, Drew Barrymore and Mary-Louise Parker as three friends on a cross-country road trip...

    Pittsburgh Police chase down Drew Barrymore
    Drew Barrymore
    Drew Blyth Barrymore is an American actress, film director, screenwriter, producer and model. She is a member of the Barrymore family of American actors and granddaughter of John Barrymore. She first appeared in an advertisement when she was 11 months old. Barrymore made her film debut in Altered...

    .
  • Inspector Gadget
    Inspector Gadget (film)
    Inspector Gadget is a 1999 American live-action comedy film loosely based on the 1983 animated cartoon series Inspector Gadget. It starred Matthew Broderick as the title character, along with Rupert Everett as Dr. Claw, Michelle Trachtenberg as Penny, and Dabney Coleman as Chief Quimby...

    Pittsburgh gets recast as "Riverton" as the Police go high tech.
  • RoboCop
    RoboCop
    RoboCop is a 1987 American science fiction-action film directed by Paul Verhoeven. Set in a crime-ridden Detroit, Michigan in the near future, RoboCop centers on a police officer who is brutally murdered and subsequently re-created as a super-human cyborg known as "RoboCop"...

    Though set as Detroit, it is Pittsburgh Police that offer the backdrop for the film locations largely throughout Pittsburgh.
  • Land of the Dead
    Land of the Dead
    For the disambiguation page on anything else on this topic, come here to Land of the Dead .Land of the Dead is a 2005 horror film written and directed by George A...

    even though filmed in Toronto and Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, locations in film are to appear as Pittsburgh.
  • The Clearing
    The Clearing
    The Clearing is a 2004 American drama film and the directorial debut of Pieter Jan Brugge, who has worked as a film producer. The film is loosely based on the real-life kidnapping of Gerrit Jan Heijn that took place in the Netherlands in 1987...

    Robert Redford
    Robert Redford
    Charles Robert Redford, Jr. , better known as Robert Redford, is an American actor, film director, producer, businessman, environmentalist, philanthropist, and founder of the Sundance Film Festival. He has received two Oscars: one in 1981 for directing Ordinary People, and one for Lifetime...

    's character as a 'prominent Pittsburgh businessman' is abducted and held for randsom as the Pittsburgh Police and FBI are portrayed attempting to solve the case.
  • The Next Three Days
    The Next Three Days
    The Next Three Days is a 2010 thriller film directed by Paul Haggis and starring Russell Crowe and Elizabeth Banks. It was released in the United States on November 19, 2010 and was filmed on location in Pittsburgh...

    features the Pittsburgh Police prominently as Russell Crowe
    Russell Crowe
    Russell Ira Crowe is a New Zealander Australian actor , film producer and musician. He came to international attention for his role as Roman General Maximus Decimus Meridius in the 2000 historical epic film Gladiator, directed by Ridley Scott, for which he won an Academy Award for Best Actor, a...

     battles to prove his wife's innocence during a murder trial.
  • In the Name of the Law
    In the Name of the Law (1922 film)
    In the Name of the Law is a 1922 silent-film featuring Pittsburgh Pirates retired Hall of Famer Honus Wagner as a hero in an early action plot...

    a police Superintendent hurls baseballs off the 150+ foot high roof of Pittsburgh City Hall as Pittsburgh Pirates
    Pittsburgh Pirates
    The Pittsburgh Pirates are a Major League Baseball club based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They play in the Central Division of the National League, and are five-time World Series Champions...

     Hall of Famer Honus Wagner
    Honus Wagner
    -Louisville Colonels:Recognizing his talent, Barrow recommended Wagner to the Louisville Colonels. After some hesitation about his awkward figure, Wagner was signed by the Colonels, where he hit .338 in 61 games....

     comes to the city's rescue with daring catches on the street below.
  • Dominick and Eugene
    Dominick and Eugene
    Dominick and Eugene is a 1988 American drama film directed by Robert M. Young about twin brothers, Dominick and Eugene. Dominick has an intellectual disability due to an accident in his youth. The film was directed by Robert M...

  • Chasing 3000
    Chasing 3000
    Chasing 3000 is a 2008 American independent film chronicling the cross-country travel of two boys to see the 3,000th base hit of Major League Baseball legend Roberto Clemente. It stars Trevor Morgan, Rory Culkin, Ray Liotta, and Lauren Holly.-Cast:...


See also

  • Allegheny County Sheriff
    Allegheny County Sheriff
    The Allegheny County Sheriff's Office is a local county law enforcement agency that serves both Pittsburgh and Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. It primarily provides court, warrant, bailiff, and jail/prisoner transport services for the county...

     (sister agency)
  • Allegheny County District Attorney
    Allegheny County District Attorney
    The Allegheny County District Attorney is the elected district attorney for Pittsburgh and Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. The office is responsible for the prosecution of violations of Pennsylvania commonwealth laws....

  • Allegheny County Police Department
    Allegheny County Police Department
    The Allegheny County Police Department is a Police Department which patrols the Pittsburgh International Airport, the Allegheny County Airport, and county-owned properties and parks, including North Park and South Park...

     (sister agency)
  • List of law enforcement agencies in Pennsylvania
  • 2009 Pittsburgh police shooting
  • Vic Cianca
    Vic Cianca
    Victor S. "Vic" Cianca, Sr. was a famous traffic police officer from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania who spent his entire career with the Pittsburgh Police Bureau retiring January 4, 1983 His flamboyant style of directing traffic led to appearances on the television program Candid Camera in 1964, and...



External links

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