A Baldwin Borough police
officer accidentally shot a fellow officer in the back as they responded to a
report of a man with a gun inside a home early Sunday, Allegheny County police
said.
The wounded officer,
identified as Sgt. Ralph Miller, was conscious and alert when he was taken to
UPMC Mercy, Uptown, Baldwin police Chief Michael Scott said.
“He was in good
spirits,” Scott said. “He was certainly very supportive of the officer that
injured him.”
Miller, 54, suffered a
shattered hip and pelvis and possible nerve damage in a foot, Scott said. The
amount of swelling and bleeding prevented doctors from completely assessing his
injuries, Scott said. Miller underwent three surgeries, and a fourth was
planned for Monday. He was in and out of consciousness throughout the day.
“We're just hoping for
the best,” Scott said.
County police
Superintendent Charles Moffatt did not identify the officer who fired two shots
from his patrol rifle.
The officers were among
four responding to a 911 call received about 3:45 a.m. A woman told dispatchers
her boyfriend was distraught and carrying a loaded shotgun as he walked around
the home they share with their two young children, Moffatt said.
The woman locked herself
in a bedroom, then told dispatchers the man had calmed down and unloaded his
weapon, Moffatt said.
Three officers from Baldwin
and one from Whitehall responded to the home in the 5100 block of Elmwood
Drive, police said.
Miller, who has at least
14 years on the force, knocked on the door while a second Baldwin officer moved
into a backup position behind him, police said.
A man answered the door
but refused repeated orders to show both hands, showing one holding a milk jug,
Moffatt said.
Miller could see a woman
holding a child in the house and wanted to speak with her when the man began
shutting the door, Scott said. The second Baldwin officer put his foot in the
door, and Miller put his shoulder into the door to try to force it open wider,
Scott said.
The second officer fired
two shots with his patrol rifle, striking Miller between the bottom of his
bulletproof vest and his belt. It's unclear whether Miller was hit once or
twice. Police could not find the second slug from the officer's gun, Moffatt
said.
Neither Moffatt nor
Scott could say why the officer fired.
“That's what we're still
trying to sort out,” Moffatt said.
Police sent the rifle to
the Allegheny County Crime Lab for analysis and to check for a possible
mechanical problem, Scott said.
Scott said he doesn't
know whether the second officer realizes how or why the shooting happened.
“That's why they want to
take a look at the weapon,” he said.
When Miller fell, a
third Baldwin officer fired a shot and hit the house, Moffatt said. Police did
not release that officer's name.
The two who fired their
weapons have been placed on administrative leave, and the department has
brought in grief counselors.
No one else was wounded,
and no charges have been filed as county police investigate, Moffatt said.
Police said the man's shotgun was thrown out the window of the home.
Scott said the officers
followed their training. They set up a perimeter, blocked off roads and
approached with their patrol rifles, he said.
“We follow the one-plus
rule, one level above the force the person has,” Scott said. “It's not supposed
to be fair. We're going to take every precaution we can,” and everything went
well up until the point of the shooting, he said.
“It's just a thing we
need to find out exactly why it happened and ensure it doesn't happen again,”
Scott said.
Scott said Baldwin
police recently refreshed training on responding to domestic calls because of
an incident on New Year's Eve, when two Pittsburgh officers responding to a
woman's 911 call left without talking to her. The woman's boyfriend said
everything was OK and refused to open the door to police. She later was found dead
in her home, and her boyfriend confessed to killing her before committing
suicide, authorities said.
Miller is the
department's traffic supervisor and coordinator of the South Hills DUI Task
Force. He runs the borough's infant car seat installation program.
Scott said Miller
worried after the shooting because he was supposed to help a woman install a
car seat, and he wanted to make sure it was rescheduled.
Miller held no ill
feelings toward the officer who fired the shots, Scott said.
“He understood that's
the risk you run, and he understood that nobody felt worse than the one who did
it,” Scott said. Miller's wife also was supportive of the other officer, Scott
said.
A man and woman at the
home where the 911 call originated declined to comment on Sunday.
The “pop, pop, pop”
awakened neighbors on both sides of the house where the shooting happened.
“It sounded more like a
cannon,” said Jean Kimmick, 75, a 40-year resident of the street. “I was
shocked, just shocked.”
The couple involved in
the domestic call are quiet and keep to themselves, neighbors said. They have
two daughters, neighbors said.
The couple's names were
not released.
Baldwin Mayor Alexander
Bennett, who served on the Baldwin police force for more than 20 years, called
Miller one of the department's finest officers.
“He's outstanding,” he
said. “He never drops the ball. He's always putting his job and community
first.”
Bennett declined to
comment on specifics of the incident.
Miller is the first
Baldwin police officer to be shot while on duty, Bennett said.
