Target 11: Mayor Gainey wants to see South Side violence for himself after recent shootings, fights

PITTSBURGH — Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey is planning a late-night trip to the South Side and specifically East Carson Street, around 1 a.m. Saturday.  The mayor told Target 11 Investigator Rick Earle that he wants to see for himself what goes on in the late evening and early morning hours along the popular strip that’s lined with bars and restaurants. That area has recently been plagued by shootings and fights.

The mayor has also scheduled a news conference for this Friday to release more details about what new measures he plans to implement to improve safety in the area. This comes after an uptick in violence along East Carson Street during recent months. This past weekend there were two separate shootings and three people were wounded. There have been a rash of fights and shootings over the last several months.

“I think that’s the difference. I want to see. I’ve been over there around 9 p.m. or 9:30 p.m., but this time I’m going over there around 1 a.m., so that makes a difference,” said Gainey on Thursday morning during a groundbreaking ceremony for the construction of a road linking Larimer and Homewood to East Liberty.

The mayor said he was concerned about the uptick in violence, especially because the owners of the Fudge Farm announced this week they had had enough and were closing down because of the weekend shootings.

“There’s just certain things I want to be able to see for myself. It’s going to help me articulate an also when I talk to public safety to tell them some of the things that I believe we need to do to help impact the change over there,” said Gainey.

Gainey declined to release specifics but said that the Police Bureau’s Group Violence Intervention Unit will be deployed to assist on the Southside. He said additional officers will be added and traffic patterns may be altered in an effort to improve safety.

One of the strategies proposed by police involved using officers in plain clothes and undercover vehicles to patrol the area and look for people violating laws. But today the mayor said he would not implement that tactic, which is similar to the controversial jump-out squads that were deployed years ago.

“I haven’t seen the jump-out squad work. Matter of fact, what I’ve seen is it create more division and tension between communities and policing and that’s not what we’re about,” said Gainey.

The mayor did confirm what Target 11 reported last week, that additional officers were used during the past two weekends and motorcycle units will continue tagging and towing, but business owners say it’s not enough.

“We need more police and we need police that are allowed to do their job,” said Rich Cupka, the owner of a bar and restaurant in the area.

Despite the recent rise in violence, Cupka told Earle that he’s optimistic the mayor will be able to stop the violence. He said he’s glad the mayor is coming to visit East Carson Street.

“I think Gainey understands the problem. He’s coming down, and I think we are the right step to get back to some sort of normalcy,” said Cupka.

Some law enforcement sources and business owners told Target 11 that SWAT officers were going to be placed on every corner to help keep the peace, but the mayor said that was not discussed as part of the plan.

The mayor plans to meet with business owners and residents on the Southside next Tuesday at 6 p.m. at the Market House.

He said he will release more detailed information at a news conference on Friday about plans to improve safety and security.

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