A now-retired Pittsburgh police commander was charged last year with illegally recording other officers using a police-issued body-worn camera, authorities said.
Allegheny County police said they were asked to investigate after a body-worn camera was found hidden inside an unmarked police car in Pittsburgh in October. County police said in a Facebook post Friday that investigators determined multiple Zone 2 officers were “unknowingly recorded on cameras installed inside unmarked police vehicles.” did.
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Former Zone 2 Commander Matthew Lackner, 50, was charged Friday with four third-degree felony counts of interception, disclosure and use of wired, electronic and oral communications. Lackner has been retired since the investigation began, officials said.
Pittsburgh’s downtown skyline at night taken from the Riverwalk in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on August 26, 2016. (Photo by Raymond Boyd/Getty Images)
According to the criminal complaint, investigators say Lackner used at least 11 police-issue body-worn cameras multiple times between September 27 and October 4, recording approximately 75 hours of footage. He claims to have taken the picture.
According to the complaint, Lackner told officers the recording was part of a federal investigation into an unnamed person and told them not to talk about it again, but county police said they did not contact federal authorities. said it had confirmed that such an investigation did not authorize any action. . Authorities have not provided a new explanation for Rucker’s alleged actions.
Asked about Lackner on Friday, Pittsburgh Police Chief Larry Sirotto said, “We will immediately take action against anyone who violates the trust in our organization,” the Tribune-Review reported.
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Court documents do not list an attorney representing Mr. Lackner. A call to the number listed in his name went unanswered Monday and then hung up. Robert Schwarzwelder, president of the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge No. 1, declined to comment, according to the Tribune-Review.
