PITTSBURGH — A Pittsburgh police detective was wounded and the suspect was killed during an exchange of gunfire Thursday evening.
At a Friday news conference, Allegheny County police Superintendent Coleman McDonough provided a preliminary account of the incident.
McDonough said the city detectives were in an unmarked vehicle when they stopped a car at 6:55 p.m. The decedent, Elijah Jamaal Brewer, 25, was a passenger in the vehicle, WTAE reported.
The detectives smelled burned marijuana and told the unnamed driver to get out of the car. He complied. Brewer also got out, and an exchange of gunfire occurred at 7 p.m., said McDonough.
Later during the question and answer session of the press conference, McDonough added that a scuffle ensured between Brewer and the officers before shots were fired.
During the exchange of gunfire, the driver fled on foot, but was captured a short distance away. He was later interviewed and subsequently released from custody.
“A 9mm handgun was recovered at the scene in the right hand of the deceased,” McDonough said. “Based on our preliminary investigation, it’s apparent that the deceased fired at least two rounds at Pittsburgh detectives. All four Pittsburgh detectives returned fire at the deceased.”
How many times Brewer was shot, and which of the officers shot him, are to be determined pending results of an autopsy by the county medical examiner.
Police said Brewer was a parolee prohibited from possessing a firearm. He was on parole following a 2014 guilty plea to charges including aggravated assault and a firearms violation.
The officers involved in the shooting were in plain clothes and not wearing body cameras, and there was no camera in their vehicle, McDonough said. However, the detectives had badges and wore vests with police markings, he said.
The reasons for the detention remains unclear at this point.
“At this time, I can’t detail that,” McDonough said. “Certain things occurred. There was a robbery in the area approximately 6 minutes before the traffic stop. My personal observations at the scene last night when I saw the vehicle, there were obvious equipment violations that would have constituted probable cause for a traffic stop. But as I stand here today, I can’t definitively tell you the reason behind the stop.”
Investigators have no evidence that ties Brewer or the driver to the robbery in the area, McDonough said. He added, “I don’t know what was the knowledge or what was in the minds of the involved officers.”
“This is a criminal investigation. The officers involved are the subject of a criminal investigation at this time. As such, they have the same rights as any other citizen who is subject to a criminal investigation, and they decided to invoke those rights last night,” McDonough reminded the reporters who were present.
McDonough said his investigators were canvassing the area for any surveillance video that may be available, as well as any bodycam video from uniformed officers who responded to the shooting, WTAE reported.
When asked if that section of East Ohio Street may have street security cameras, McDonough replied, “If you’re aware of any, please help us out.”
The investigation is ongoing, and things could change if county detectives are able to obtain video or additional witness statements, McDonough said.
“I think that the point to remember here is we had a subject who fired at police officers, and we had a driver who complied with police officers’ orders. One of them went home last night and slept in his own bed,” he said.
He also could not say whether the injured officer had been shot by the decedent. “That’s pending our investigation,” McDonough said.
Finally, officials said the wounded officer was shot in the hip and was in stable condition.
