Charges Dismissed Against 18-Year-Old Pittsburgh CAPA Student
POSTED: 12:05 am EST March 11, 2010
UPDATED: 12:31 am EST March 11, 2010
HOMEWOOD, Pa. -- A public hearing was held in Homewood Wednesday night as community members expressed their disdain for police conduct involving an 18-year-old performing arts student.
"The way they savagely ripped his hair out of his head alone tells you that this child and his stature could not have fought three grown, trained men," one woman proclaimed to the crowd in attendance at the Homewood Branch of the Carnegie Library.
Jordan Miles, a student at Pittsburgh CAPA, claims three plainclothes officers beat him Jan. 12 because they assumed he was a troublemaker.
Pittsburgh city council member the Rev. Ricky Burgess introduced legislation Wednesday night asking that all police vehicles have security cameras installed.
"To change the rules, so that when officers are accused of serious violations, they are put on administrative leave automatically [and] to set up a task force that will oversee the accreditation of the police force," said Burgess.
A city magistrate last week dismissed prowling and assault charges against Miles after a homeowner contradicted police accounts that Miles was lurking near a stranger's house. The homeowner testified at a hearing that she knows Miles, who is friends with her son.
"The legislation is a good thing. Personally, I wish it went even further. I wish that it went even further, but it's a good start," said Terez Miles.
Miles said he wasn't even holding soda and fought to get away from police simply because they didn't identify themselves as such. He was a short distance from his mother and grandmother's homes when the officers grabbed him.
"I think it [legislation] will really help with a lot of problems," said Jordan Miles.
The three officers have been suspended with pay during an internal investigation. They claimed Miles was acting suspiciously and thought he might have a gun -- which they said turned out to be a soda bottle -- when they accosted him.
Deputy Chief Paul Donaldson said in
an e-mail to officers over the weekend that he "heard some disturbing rumors that some officers are contemplating a work slow down or diminished patrols" because of the Miles case.
Donaldson sent the e-mail amid reports that some officers were threatening to stop doing "proactive" police work. The officers in the Miles case were patrolling in a car used to aggressively target guns and drugs in high-crime areas.
The district attorney is reviewing the case to determine whether to re-file the charges.
Copyright 2010 by ThePittsburghChannel. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report. 
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