PITTSBURGH — Fallout continues for the embattled Pittsburgh police motorcycle unit.
It all began this past summer when members of the unit went to work Donald Trump’s Butler rally, but according to the chief, were not authorized to go to work the detail.
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The unit had approximately 12 full-time members and six part-timers.
11 Investigates exclusively learned that those part-time employees decided to park their bikes. Pittsburgh Bureau of Police Assistant Chief Rick Ford acknowledged the departures.
“There is a group of individuals that is no longer riding cycles at this time, whether or not that will continue in the future, that’s still to be determined,” Ford said.
Sources tell 11 investigates that the part-time officers decided to leave the unit after being told they could no longer take their bikes home.
The motorcycle unit came under scrutiny in July when members worked the Trump rally in Butler, but the chief said they did not receive proper authorization to go.
Some of those officers were hit by shrapnel during the assassination attempt but they still went into the stands and helped escort the wounded and injured to safety.
Sources said the officers should have been honored for their heroic efforts, but instead, the chief launched an investigation.
Days later, two members of the unit were removed from over allegations of excessive overtime.
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The chief then banned cycles from doing traffic escorts for sports teams and other entities outside the city limits. He also broke up the cycle unit, reassigning members to various zone stations around the city.
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Now, those six part-time riders have decided to hang it up.
“The cycle unit is still in flux in terms of the transition,” Ford said.
Ford said he’s confident the remaining cycle officers will be able to handle the work, while the bureau decides how to proceed.
“The amount of cycles we have now, we’re still able to utilize them and deploy them in a way, you know they’re useful and we will revisit the other aspect of that in the future,” Ford said.
Ford left open the possibility that some of those part-timers may have a change of heart and could decide to return to the cycle unit.
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