Pittsburgh investigating whether private police training violates ethics
Pittsburgh PA January 5 2019
Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto said it’s still unclear whether two Pittsburgh police commanders violated department, city or state ethics rules by taking training they received through the department and turning it into a private business.
City officials are looking into whether Cmdrs. Jason Lando and Cristyn Zett and Officer Jason Upson crossed a line when they started a private company called DBA Training Solutions that specializes in teaching other groups how to recognize and move past implicit biases.
Peduto said he wasn’t aware of DBA Training Solutions until Wednesday, and the city needs more clarification on whether the situation actually amounts to an ethics violation. He said the law department is reviewing the issue, and Lando has asked for an ethics board hearing.
“The question is when federal dollars are being used and local dollars are being used in order to provide (training) to a specific group, does it then allow them to expand it for a for-profit enterprise?” Peduto said. “We aren’t sure, but we believe … that it is not permissible.”
Lando said he, Zett and Upson were tasked about two years ago with providing bias training to city police officers – something that was done while on duty and in their capacity as Pittsburgh police. The training came as part of a federal grant and is meant to help strengthen relationships with minority communities by combating dangerous stereotypes that can cloud judgment. From there, they began offering free training for community groups and faith-based organizations.
Because of the training’s popularity, Lando said, they began receiving requests from private companies and organizations. They created DBA Training Solutions.
Lando said the training for the department and community groups is “completely separate” from the private venture.
“We created our corporate training on our own, using no confidential or proprietary information,” he said.
The company’s mission, according to its website, “is to create healthier organizations and stronger communities by helping our clients build better relationships with the people they serve.”
The code of conduct for city employees, however, bars employees from using information gained through their city employment “for personal use other than would be generally available to the public at large.”
Peduto said he does not believe the commanders intended to circumvent city code.
“I really do believe that they felt that they got world-class training in this field and that they had the opportunity to expand it beyond the scope of what it was intended to be used for,” Peduto said Thursday.
Peduto said the trio’s training came through a federal program and they were, in turn, to train the rest of the force.
Lando noted that the PowerPoint software used for the corporate presentations was paid for privately. They use a personal laptop, created the presentation on their own time and do not give the corporate training while on duty or in uniform.
TribLive
