- Archives

DA refuses to prosecute police who shot and killed Bernard Rogers

Nearly two years after a man was shot dead by Housing Authority police in the Hill District, District Attorney Stephen Zappala has decided that no criminal charges will be filed. Bernard Rogers, 26, was killed in November 2002 at the Bedford Dwellings housing complex, where officers were going door to door on a drug investigation. He was shot in the chest after rushing Officer Tonyea Curry and reaching for Curry's gun inside an apartment, according to police testimony. "Substantial evidence indicates that Rogers sustained a fatal chest wound when he assaulted Pittsburgh Housing Authority police officer(s) and became involved in a struggle over an officer's weapon," Zappala said in a statement Friday. "Given the extensive publication of this evidence, further comment is not necessary at this time ... I have determined that criminal charges are not warranted." Based on testimony at an open inquest in December 2002, Allegheny County Coroner Dr. Cyril Wecht recommended charges against Curry. At that hearing, police testified that Rogers fought with officers and was shot, then ran from the apartment and collapsed, but people who were at Bedford Dwellings that night said Rogers was hit from behind while he was running. Rogers' parents have said they believe authorities are covering up what happened at the apartment. [more]