Chicago activist demands all footage from police shooting
By DON BABWIN, Associated Press
CHICAGO (AP) — A community activist who has pushed for more police transparency said Monday that he’s asked Chicago police for the body camera footage from all the officers at the scene where one of them fatally shot a black man over the weekend.
William Calloway said a brief video released by police showing the view from one officer’s body camera does not answer crucial questions, starting with the reasons the officers approached 37-year-old Harith Augustus on Saturday afternoon just before he was shot. Calloway also said that a police spokesman’s explanation that the Augustus was “exhibiting characteristics of an armed person” does justify stopping someone in a city and state where it is legal to carry a concealed weapon.
Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson said Sunday that detectives have found no documentation that Augustus had a concealed carry permit, but Calloway said there is no way officers at the scene could have known that when they approached him.
The video released by police did not include sound so it is impossible to hear what was said by either Augustus or any of the four officers at the scene. It shows one of the officers trying to grab the arm of Augustus, who spins and runs away with a clearly visible holstered gun on his hip.
“He was having a civil conversation with the black cop at first so we need to know what he and that officer were saying,” he said. “There needs to be (footage) from four police officers with audio.”
The police department did not immediately return a call for comment about Calloway’s request.
At a news conference on Sunday to announce the release of the 51-second video, Johnson said the way the technology works is that there is a “30-second buffer period” in which there is no audio before the sound is activated. It is unclear why there is no sound throughout the entire video.
Calloway was instrumental in a legal battle that ultimately led a judge in 2015 to order the release of dashcam video showing the 2014 shooting of teenager Laquan McDonald. The release of that video of Officer Jason Van Dyke shooting the teen 16 times, sparked massive protests, cost then-Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy his job and prompted various federal and local investigations. Van Dyke is awaiting trial on first-degree murder charges.
Calloway said he wants to give the police department a chance to release the rest of the videos — complete with audio — but if they refuse he will the city to force its release.
Johnson said on Sunday that release of the video one day after the shooting was the quickest he had ever ordered such a disclosure. He said that he did so to avoid a repeat of the clashes between angry residents and police that took place Saturday night. Protesters threw rocks and bottles — some filled with urine — at police and officers responded by hitting some demonstrators with their batons.
After release of the video, protests on Sunday evening were peaceful. But the community remains tense and a “demonstration against the police murder of Harith Augustus” organized by a group called the Chicago Alliance Against Racism and Political Repression was scheduled for Monday evening at the scene of the shooting.

State Representative Aaron Bernstine will be hosting a document-shredding event taking place at Geneva College later this month. Matt Drzik has further details on that:

The event organized by the Beaver County Community and Law Enforcement Coalition was held on Saturday as a way to build camaraderie between the community and local law enforcement.  Beaver County Radio News Correspondent Sandy Giordano has the story.

Pittsburgh —
Hundreds of teachers from across the country took to the streets of Pittsburgh in a march for better funding.

The group took aim at the Trump administration saying that there’s a plan to cut funding for public education, while putting more focus on school choice for students.

“People understand the stakes, that we need to actually use the ballot box to make sure workers have a pathway to a better life”, says Randi Weingarten, AFT Union President.

Union leaders also talked about the need to keep guns out of school.

HOLLSOPPLE, Pa —
Somerset County Tactical Search team recovered the body of 18-year-old Joseph Dubics from the Quemahoning Dam Reservoir on Saturday afternoon.

Dubics disappeared while paddleboarding on Monday. Two young women who were with him told emergency dispatchers that he went underwater and never surfaced.

Officials do not suspect foul play or suspicious circumstances are related to the incident.

The Quemahoning Family Recreation Area will remain closed until 10 a.m on Monday.

BRADDOCK HILLS, Pa. – A 90-year-old woman crashed her car into a home on Brinton Road in Braddock Hills Sunday morning.

When first responders arrived on scene they found the driver trapped behind the wheel and were able to safely remove her from the car. The driver was transported to a local hospital.

There is no word what caused the crash.

ALLEGHENY COUNTY, Pa. – Two 13-year-old boys stole a car Sunday morning and led police on a chase through at least two neighborhoods in Allegheny County.

Police said the pursuit began around 1:15 a.m. in Forest Hills and continued on to Electric Avenue in North Braddock.

After crashing into a house the teens ran from the car and tried to scale a wall up to Route 30.
Police caught the two boys and took them into custody.

At a house fire in CRESCENT TOWNSHIP, – Two firefighters were taken away on stretchers and another person was injured.

The fire was reported about 2:30 a.m. early Monday morning at a home on Main Street in Crescent Township, officials said.

Arthur Stiffler, who lives in the home, said he was watching TV on his back porch when the fire broke out. He said he ran upstairs and found his son laying on floor with burns to his feet and legs.

“The flames were so high,” said Stiffler, adding, “It was just black smoke in the stairwell and in the house. You couldn’t take a couple of breaths, you would just pass out.”

Stiffler said he got his wife and son out of the house. Stiffler’s son was taken to UPMC Mercy Hospital.

The two firefighters were also hospitalized with one suffering a back injury and the other a knee injury.

Stiffler’s 90-year-old mother was taken from another part of the structure and some neighbors were also evacuated.

The Allegheny County fire marshal is investigating the cause of the fire.

WEATHER JULY 16, 2018

TODAY
Partly cloudy early. Thunderstorms developing this afternoon. High 89F.

TONIGHT
Thunderstorms likely. Low around 70F.

TUESDAY
Scattered thunderstorms in the morning, then partly cloudy late. High 83F.