Secret Memos Used As Evidence In Demoted Police Cmdr. SuitPOSTED: 11:45 am EST January 4,
2007 PITTSBURGH -- Pittsburgh's one-time senior police commander, Lt. Catherine McNeilly, went before a U.S. district judge on Thursday, looking to win her job back.McNeilly was demoted and given a $10,000 pay cut in December. She claimed she was improperly disciplined for speaking out against the nomination of former city operations director Dennis Regan.The American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit, saying the city should be praising McNeilly for pointing out alleged wrongdoing instead of demoting her.In an e-mail to City Council, McNeilly suggested that Regan blocked disciplinary action against a detective who was a family member of Regan's housemate. A city investigation found Regan had done nothing wrong, Mayor Luke Ravenstahl said.In court on Thursday, transcripts of some confidential police memos regarding Regan were entered into evidence, WTAE Channel 4's Bob Mayo reported.One piece of evidence was a transcript of a statement by former Police Chief Dom Costa that he was ordered by Regan to promote an officer to detective, even though Costa told Regan that the officer's stats weren't up to detective quality.Another memo submitted by Zone 3 Cmdr. Rashall Brackney claims that Regan told officers to tell her a South Side tire business "has friends in the mayor's office and he has no problem with him changing tires in the street, and I was to leave him alone and if I did not get with the program, I would be walking a beat."Brackney also wrote that after she told Regan she wouldn't let the tire business operate in the streets, Regan said, "I've had enough of you" and called out to Costa in her presence, "Dom, I have a problem with your commander, and you better start handling her."McNeilly testified on Thursday that the incidents described in the memos, along with her personal experiences with Regan, are what led her to question his nomination. More Details: Court Documents Posted On Bob Mayo's BlogPDF: Annotated Copy Of City's Court Document Responding To McNeilly LawsuitRelated Links: More Allegheny County NewsGet RSS | E-Mail Alerts Copyright 2007 by ThePittsburghChannel. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. |
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