Activists Challenge Port Authority Board

Two activists spoke up about the killing of Bruce Kelley Jr. by Port Authority police at the February 26 Authority Board Meeting. One was Helen Gerhardt, who spoke on behalf of Pittsburghers for Public Transit (PPT), a project of the Thomas Merton Center, and the other was Dell Vann, who identified himself as a Black Lives Matter supporter.

A January 31 incident involving Kelley Jr., along with his father, and the Port Authority police ended in the death of Kelley Jr. The two men were drinking together at a gazebo when two cops approached them, which led to Kelley Sr. going up to one and “grabbing her physically from behind,” according to a WPXI video of District Attorney Steven Zappala speaking at a press conference. Kelley Sr. was then pepper sprayed by the same officer, prompting him to attempt to assault her again before being pepper sprayed a second time, Zappala continued.

Later, nine to ten armed officers followed Kelley Jr., who fled the scene wielding a four-inch knife, borne out by surveillance footage provided by Zappala during the conference. A K-9 unit was eventually released on Kelley Jr., which prompted him to stab the dog to death. Afterwards, “one officer shoots Kelley [Jr.] ten times, the other shoots him twice,” Zappala said. Some are concerned about the mental health of Kelley Jr.; Zappala said “we do not have a mental health evaluation.”

In response to this incident, Gerhardt essentially recited to the board the statement PPT put out online on pittsburghersforpublictransit.org on February 11.

“Pittsburghers for Public Transit is deeply concerned and upset about the killing of Bruce Kelley, Jr. by Port Authority police,” Gerhardt said to the board. “Our thoughts are with his family and friends at this difficult time. We are also deeply concerned about the use of the police dog on a person, both in this instance and in all instances.”

There are several areas Gerhardt expressed concern about, including calls for better police training and further investigation.

“We understand the District Attorney, Steven Zappala, is leading an investigation into whether or not the use of deadly force was justified,” Gerhardt said. “We also think the investigation should include whether or not the use of the police dog was justified.”

Dell Vann had deeply critical things to say to the board.

“The killing of Bruce Kelley Jr. is Pittsburgh’s version of the tale of two cities. One version has Pittsburgh being the most livable city, and the other version has it being the poorest in the nation,” Vann told the board. “Pittsburgh doesn’t even have a black middle class neighborhood, unheard of anywhere else.”

He went on to explain, throughout his speech, the various forms of racism evident in the city. “Pittsburgh has financially and politically ostracized its black community, and it’s a model example of ... two separate entities, unequal, and separate,” Vann said. “And it is under this atmosphere that Bruce Kelley [Jr.] was killed.”

His harsh criticism comes with a strong position on what should happen next. “It’s time for the district attorney to file murder charges against the Port Authority police who killed Bruce Kelley Jr.,” Vann said.

After Vann finished speaking, Gerhardt stood up and applauded his speech. Later, Gerhardt explained why she liked Vann’s speech via interview. “I have grave concerns about the role of race, and I’m speaking as an individual now rather than as PPT,” Gerhardt said. “I have seen such damage from racism and implicit bias in this city and in my own experience as a veteran. I bore a weapon at one point and I saw how implicit bias and dehumanization of certain minorities leads to incredible loss, violence, death.”

PPT does not believe anyone involved should be charged with murder, Gerhardt said.

Vann, who does, explained why he came to speak in a post-event interview. “What motivated me was the killing of Bruce Kelley [Jr.]. I had been an activist about ten years ago, and I hadn’t done anything and this kind of brought me out of hibernation,” Vann said. “It was a senseless killing, and it should have been handled differently.”

This event made Vann think of horrific moments in history of the police abusing minorities.

“It reminded me of things happening in the past, where the police would let loose the dogs, particularly in Birmingham and Selma, Alabama, and then after letting loose the dogs, then they would beat them up,” Vann said. “It’s almost history repeating itself.”

Matt Petras is an intern for the NewPeople covering LGBTQ issues and local activism. He is a Class of 2018 Point Park student majoring in journalism.

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