(Ken Silva, Headline USA) Headline USA has exclusively obtained a trove of records that detail the Pittsburgh Police Bureau’s unanticipated major role in the deadly July 13 Trump rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
The records, which were obtained via a Right to Know Law request, reveal the identities of the Pittsburgh motorcycle cops at the Butler rally, including those who were injured when alleged gunman Thomas Crooks attempted to assassinate Donald Trump. According to the records, the motorcycle cops performed their duties competently—with an Allegheny hospital official raving about their “very professional job” in assisting the shooting victims.
However, after Headline USA obtained the Pittsburgh police records, Pittsburgh Citizen Police Review Board director Beth Pittinger revealed that the bureau’s motorcycle unit was disbanded over controversy stemming from the rally.
As has been previously reported, there remains an outstanding question as to whether the Pittsburgh motorcycle cops were actually approved to help with the Trump rally. Instead, some reports indicate that they should have been available to help with First Lady Jill Biden’s visit to Pittsburgh at the same time.
We've got much to discuss, including this massive news dropped last night that the Pittsburgh police motorcycle unit was disbanded in the wake of the Trump shooting.
I obtained a trove of records related to this, which I've shared w/ Jason ahead of today's show. https://t.co/kZU8qBlTL2 pic.twitter.com/hDFSKCNxN6
— Ken Silva (@JD_Cashless) October 24, 2024
“As a result of that, the motorcycle unit was broken up, it was busted up. There’s no supervisor assigned to it, as I understand it, now. They assigned them all to the downtown unit or dispersed them to the zones So, where we used to have a discrete motorcycle unit, we don’t anymore. They’re all over the place. A lot of things happened,” Pittinger said Wednesday night.
Pittinger’s board is investigating the issues she raised. She said the investigation focuses on the supervisory level: “Who said they can go and who said they can stay?” she asked.
Responding to Pittinger’s remarks, on Thursday the police bureau’s spokesperson, Cara Cruz, denied that disbanding the motorcycle unit was related to the Butler rally.
The decentralization of the Bureau’s motorcycle unit was an operational decision unrelated to the Butler rally.
“The thirteen full-time riders are now distributed throughout the city’s six police zones with two in each zone, and three in Zone 2, which encompasses the downtown core as well as the Hill and Strip Districts,” Cruz said in an email.
“This provides more efficient and nimble coverage throughout the city. The thirteen full-time riders and five ancillary riders can be deployed from the zones when and where they are needed for traffic control, special events, and dignitary protection, etc.”
This reporter contacted several motorcycle cops involved in the Butler Trump rally, but they either declined to comment or didn’t respond to emails.
Thanks to the records provided by Pittsburgh police, this publication was able to identify three of the four cops injured by shrapnel: officer Vincent Gelpi, who was hit in the arm; officer Nicholas Devault, who was hit in an undisclosed location; and Sgt. Jeffrey Tagmyer, who was hit in the forearm. Another officer was hit in the face, but that officer’s identity has yet to be publicly determined. None of the injuries were serious.
🚨EXCLUSIVE🚨 We have obtained a trove of Pittsburgh Police records about its presence at the Butler Trump shooting, revealing information about the identities of the cops who were injured.
Read them here! pic.twitter.com/YItAqpnnT0— Headline USA (@HeadlineUSA) October 24, 2024
After the chaotic day in Butler, an Allegheny General Hospital police officer sent an email to the Pittsburgh police, thanking them for their help.
“Just wanted to make sure you commend Sgt Emily MYERS and all your officers at Zone One. They assisted us with the shooting victims who were injured in the TRUMP assassination attempt,” Highmark Health Police Department Rich Yochus wrote to Pittsburgh Police Commander Shawn Malloy on July 16.
At the time of the shooting, Malloy apparently didn’t know Trump or Jill Biden were in town.
“We also got word from Commander Rippole, the cycle escort lead, that TRUMP might be coming to AGH / Emergency Room for his injuries. We the Presidential Hospital and all former and current President come to our hospital when injured. But I had no idea TRUMP was here or the First Lady. We made it work though. We got it done,” he said.
“We locked down the hospital from 1845 Hours until around 2200 hours, after Commander Rippole gave me the okay, that TRUMP was wheels up and out of Pittsburgh. Just wanted you to know that Emily and your guys from Zone One did a very professional job and handled the situation smoothly,” he added.
According to the records I've obtained, the Pittsburgh motorcycle unit was one of the only agencies to perform competently at the Butler rally
This email from a hospital official, for example, raves about their good job.
So of course this is the only unit to be disbanded in the… https://t.co/GKSgt6HrhC pic.twitter.com/oMWPS9hg3O— Ken Silva (@JD_Cashless) October 24, 2024
Along with the records about the aftermath of the rally, Pittsburgh police also provided emails indicating that there was some pre-planning confusion among law enforcement about when and where the rallies would be happening.
Following a Secret Service meeting held on July 8 with local law enforcement, Pittsburgh police Lt. Charles Henderson wrote that he still didn’t know anything about the First Lady’s plans.
“We have FLOTUS & Trump coming in on the same day. Trumps schedule is complete. FLOTUS is the wild card. The USSS said she’s coming, but they don’t know what time, what airport, or where she’s going. If it works the way it usually does, we won’t know anything until Wednesday or Thursday,” Henderson wrote to his officers on July 8, immediately after the Secret Service meeting.
Headline USA is still working to obtain more records about the matter.
Ken Silva is a staff writer at Headline USA. Follow him at x.com/jd_cashless.
