PITTSBURGH — One person has been arrested near Mayor Bill Peduto’s home following a week of protests in his neighborhood.
Channel 11 confirmed the arrest happened in Pittsburgh’s Point Breeze neighborhood just after 9 p.m. Friday.
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The neighborhood has been at the center of recent gatherings, focused on the use of force policy within the Pittsburgh Police Department toward protesters.
According to police, the man was taken into custody on Edgerton Avenue at Hastings Street after multiple complaints from area residents.
The man is facing charges of disorderly conduct and harassment, but investigators said additional charges could follow.
Officers also confiscated a megaphone as an “instrument of crime.”
On Friday, Peduto announced changes are coming over how police officers respond to protests within the city.
In a statement sent to Channel 11, Peduto said he is assigning a new Incident Commander to oversee protests. There will be new seats at command posts for Civil Affairs and Public Safety Community Engagement staff “who will make sure that responses to protest activity are not just tactical in nature, but balanced with the essential goals of improving police-community relations and protecting 1st Amendment rights.”
There will be a new oversight and command structure for the Police Special Response Teams that are trained in crowd-control measures. However, they will no longer be the primary units to respond to incidents and protests.
Arrest tactics similar to what occurred over the weekend, where plainclothes officers emerged from what was called an unmarked vehicle, will no longer be permitted.
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