Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey is afraid of his own police white supremacist gang

I have heard it said from time to time that politicians fear their own police white supremacist gangs. I’ve always been skeptical. These gangs act principally to protect property, especially the property of the wealthy, including politicians. Try driving a ratty old car across a wealthy neighborhood, for example, and just see how quickly you have a black and white on your tail, ready to pull you over on the slightest pretext.

It appears Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey is afraid of his own police white supremacist gang.

When last I left this story, a Pittsburgh city ordinance banning traffic stops for “secondary” violations—think “fix it” tickets—had been put on hold not by a court, not by city politicians, but by the police department white supremacist gang itself. The gang claimed that a new state law which had nothing to do with these violations required that the internal policy implementing the ordinance be suspended. And, of course, experts observed that this was bogus.^[1]

The idea for the ordinance gained traction late in 2021 and was passed by the city council in an effort to curtail racist policing.^[2] And it was working.^[3]

It appears, however, that Gainey is accepting the bogus white supremacist rationale, “say[ing] the direction from Chief Thomas Stangrecki will allow police to update training for officers needed because of changes to state law.”^[4]

Whatever else Gainey may be, he isn’t this stupid. He’s lying. He knows he’s lying. And everybody else should know he’s lying.

1. ^[1]Kiley Koscinski, “Pittsburgh Police resume secondary traffic stops despite city ordinance against them,” WESA, January 12, 2023, https://www.wesa.fm/politics-government/2023-01-12/pittsburgh-police-resume-secondary-traffic-stops-despite-city-ordinance-against-them↩
2. ^[2]Julia Felton, “Proposal would prevent Pittsburgh police from pulling over drivers for minor, secondary violations,” Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, November 8, 2021, https://triblive.com/local/proposal-would-prevent-pittsburgh-police-from-pulling-over-drivers-for-minor-secondary-violations/; Julia Felton, “Proposal to stop Pittsburgh police from making minor traffic stops moves forward,” Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, December 16, 2021, https://triblive.com/local/proposal-to-stop-pittsburgh-police-from-making-minor-traffic-stops-moves-forward/; Julia Felton, “Pittsburgh council to vote on whether police can make minor traffic stops,” Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, December 20, 2021, https://triblive.com/local/pittsburgh-council-to-vote-on-whether-police-can-make-minor-traffic-stops/; Julia Felton, “Pittsburgh bans traffic stops for minor violations,” Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, December 28, 2021, https://triblive.com/local/pittsburgh-bans-traffic-stops-for-minor-violations/; Julia Felton, “Pittsburgh activists, officials hope legislation will end ‘systemic racism’ in traffic stops,” Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, February 16, 2022, https://triblive.com/local/pittsburgh-activists-officials-hope-legislation-will-end-systemic-racism-in-traffic-stops/; Kiley Koscinski, “Pittsburgh Police resume secondary traffic stops despite city ordinance against them,” WESA, January 12, 2023, https://www.wesa.fm/politics-government/2023-01-12/pittsburgh-police-resume-secondary-traffic-stops-despite-city-ordinance-against-them↩
3. ^[3]Andy Sheehan, “Police traffic stops decreasing in Pittsburgh’s communities of color,” KDKA-TV, May 11, 2022, https://www.cbsnews.com/pittsburgh/news/police-traffic-stops-decreasing-in-pittsburghs-communities-of-color/↩
4. ^[4]WTAE, “Controversial memo prompts Gainey’s response on secondary traffic stops,” January 14, 2023, https://www.wtae.com/article/gaineys-stangrecki-secondary-traffic-stops-memo/42507062↩