Another shooting downtown (Pittsburgh: gated, living in, shop)

[eschaton]

If you read the statement from the Cultural Trust, it's not just about the shooting. They have a long list of complaints about an increased amount of "nuisance crime" downtown as well.

I remember many years ago I wrote about how I thought it was odd how little panhandling downtown had compared to other cities I had lived in. I mean, you occasionally saw a bum or two, but not high concentrations. I was more likely to be hit up for money taking the bus than Downtown. This changed dramatically however within a few years of Peduto becoming mayor. My understanding is there used to be a concerted effort by the city police to get homeless people off the streets of downtown if they were being a nuisance. Peduto stopped enforcing this, and things changed.

To be clear, I don't think we're in any risk of becoming another San Francisco or something - if nothing else our climate makes it pretty much impossible we'll ever see tent cities erupt in downtown. But there is a nationwide homelessness crisis right now, and policies which focus solely upon decriminalizing homelessness and offering voluntary services do not appear to make anything better, because the hardcore homeless population are either mentally ill people who don't want help, drug addicts who don't want help, or some mixture of both. I'm not sure the city really can solve the problem alone - we don't have the tax revenue to do so, even if we knew the right programs to institute - but I also don't necessarily think letting homeless people do whatever the heck they want downtown is the right solution.

[PghYinzer]

Originally Posted by SteelCityRising

There's a very strong anti-police sentiment in Pittsburgh right now. Black Forge Coffee Shop is going viral now on Facebook. Apparently they hired a transgender individual as a cashier or barista. On their first day working this employee refused to provide service to a police officer based upon their own personally-held political beliefs. Subsequently, this employee was terminated for going against store policy of serving everyone "except for verified Nazis".

Now? Tons of anti-police activists from here and across the country are making this coffee shop go viral for firing someone who stood up to "pigs".

Allentown is already on shaky ground, and if their coffee shop goes out of business I know that would give many prospective first-time home-buyers, including myself, less of a reason to want to buy there and try to make it a better neighborhood.

I can't blame police for taking a more "hands-off" approach. There was an article in today's Pittsburgh Tribune-Review about how almost 60% of arrests last year by the city police were African-Americans despite only accounting for a minority of the city's population. I'm waiting for that to lead to protests, too. If people want Pittsburgh to become the next Baltimore, then we can certainly make that happen by encouraging officers to leave the city. In my opinion if you break the law, then, yes, you SHOULD be arrested---regardless of race, socioeconomic status, gender identity, sexual orientation, etc.

It was the Black Forge in McKees Rocks.


Also, in that article there was reference to the "streetlight effect" or "drunkard's search." If you put a ton of cops in black neighborhoods and shine the light there you will eventually arrest more blacks, even though there is a lot of crime happening in white neighborhoods but its just that no one is looking for it there. So it's not that they are targeting blacks, or the myth that minorities commit more crimes, its just no one is shining the spotlight on places like Brookline, even though we would love for them to.

[SteelCityRising]

Originally Posted by PghYinzer

It was the Black Forge in McKees Rocks.


Also, in that article there was reference to the "streetlight effect" or "drunkard's search." If you put a ton of cops in black neighborhoods and shine the light there you will eventually arrest more blacks, even though there is a lot of crime happening in white neighborhoods but its just that no one is looking for it there. So it's not that they are targeting blacks, or the myth that minorities commit more crimes, its just no one is shining the spotlight on places like Brookline, even though we would love for them to.

I'm aware it was the McKees Rocks location, but if people start boycotting "Black Forge" then both locations are in jeopardy.

I'm also aware of the street light effect. The problem is that these officers are generally in places like Homewood more frequently than neighborhoods like Brookline because Homewood has a greater per capita number of 911 calls than Brookline does. As such there will always be more police in/around Homewood responding to these calls, so more illicit activities will be seen occurring during response to these unrelated calls, and then those people will be arrested.

[gmagoo]

Originally Posted by SteelCityRising

There's a very strong anti-police sentiment in Pittsburgh right now. Black Forge Coffee Shop is going viral now on Facebook. Apparently they hired a transgender individual as a cashier or barista. On their first day working this employee refused to provide service to a police officer based upon their own personally-held political beliefs. Subsequently, this employee was terminated for going against store policy of serving everyone "except for verified Nazis".

Now? Tons of anti-police activists from here and across the country are making this coffee shop go viral for firing someone who stood up to "pigs".

Allentown is already on shaky ground, and if their coffee shop goes out of business I know that would give many prospective first-time home-buyers, including myself, less of a reason to want to buy there and try to make it a better neighborhood.

I can't blame police for taking a more "hands-off" approach. There was an article in today's Pittsburgh Tribune-Review about how almost 60% of arrests last year by the city police were African-Americans despite only accounting for a minority of the city's population. I'm waiting for that to lead to protests, too. If people want Pittsburgh to become the next Baltimore, then we can certainly make that happen by encouraging officers to leave the city. In my opinion if you break the law, then, yes, you SHOULD be arrested---regardless of race, socioeconomic status, gender identity, sexual orientation, etc.

It couldn`t be our guns for all policy could it? The anti-police sentiment isn`t what`s arming these punks.

[erieguy]

Originally Posted by gmagoo

It couldn`t be our guns for all policy could it? The anti-police sentiment isn`t what`s arming these punks.

In most cases, “these punks” are illegally acquiring guns and the revolving door puts them back on the street to repeat their crime/s.

The anti-police sentiment is as hilarious as those who defend these “punks”.

[erieguy]

Originally Posted by SteelCityRising

I can't blame police for taking a more "hands-off" approach. There was an article in today's Pittsburgh Tribune-Review about how almost 60% of arrests last year by the city police were African-Americans despite only accounting for a minority of the city's population. I'm waiting for that to lead to protests, too. If people want Pittsburgh to become the next Baltimore, then we can certainly make that happen by encouraging officers to leave the city. In my opinion if you break the law, then, yes, you SHOULD be arrested---regardless of race, socioeconomic status, gender identity, sexual orientation, etc.

Bingo

City cops don’t get paid enough to deal with such nonsense, and no surprise that many leave the city for the burbs the first chance they get.

[gg]

Originally Posted by gg

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.wta...oting/28387970

Sad that this gets so little press. Just another shooting I guess.

Unfortunately the officer died. Shame, but Homewood is a very dangerous area.

[Blue Shift]

Originally Posted by SteelCityRising

There's a very strong anti-police sentiment in Pittsburgh right now. Black Forge Coffee Shop is going viral now on Facebook. Apparently they hired a transgender individual as a cashier or barista. On their first day working this employee refused to provide service to a police officer based upon their own personally-held political beliefs. Subsequently, this employee was terminated for going against store policy of serving everyone "except for verified Nazis".

Now? Tons of anti-police activists from here and across the country are making this coffee shop go viral for firing someone who stood up to "pigs".

Allentown is already on shaky ground, and if their coffee shop goes out of business I know that would give many prospective first-time home-buyers, including myself, less of a reason to want to buy there and try to make it a better neighborhood.

Quite insane.

[szug-bot]

Originally Posted by Blue Shift

Quite insane.

Yes. The person who denied service is a woman with pink hair. Really, I would like to see her in her idealistic world - with no cops. Let's see her leave work at night and not be a target of opportunity for some of her antifa/rebel/communist/whatever label peers of hers.

The world is not perfect. Sure, there are rogue, misguided, unprepared, or bad-decision making cops out there. We get that. But there is no way her "pigs" attitude is warranted.

She is likely brainwashed by the crowd that is united in anger towards something. EVERYTHING is wrong in the world. EVERYONE is out to violate the unprivileged, the non-white, the non-male. THIS MUST BE CORRECTED AND IT STARTS WITH NO SOUP FOR YOU!

[gg]

Originally Posted by eschaton

If you read the statement from the Cultural Trust, it's not just about the shooting. They have a long list of complaints about an increased amount of "nuisance crime" downtown as well. Peduto stopped enforcing this, and things changed.

Peduto stopped police enforcing the law because of all the protests against the police. Peduto should have stood up for Michael Rosfeld instead of a bunch of gangbangers driving around shooting people. Once you go as far as siding with the shooters lawbreakers by cubically speaking against police, it sends a clear message to the police not to enforce the law. Our city is getting what it deserves and it will continue to be more like San Fransisco. There are tent cities if you bicycle around on the trails. People don't want police presence, or at least the vocal people. No one sides with police in the public. Why are they going to go out of their way? Who would. They do the minimum job requirements. Go to the 911 calls that are shootings and do some paperwork. No one gives the cops any information about the shooters anyway. If a cop tries to remove a bum or aggressive panhandler and the panhandler fights back, someone will put that on the Internet and that cop would lose their job because it will go viral and people will go nuts about it. Cops can't win and they know it. Lets let Pittsburgh slowly turn into a lawless dump. That is what the people want. Hear the protesters and glaze over reality. Side with the people in a bullet filled car that just tried to kill someone instead of the cop dealing with such a thing. You are going to get what you deserve. Lawlessness.