Pittsburgh Police Chief Albert Mixon offered a revised account of a police shooting days after hacktivist NO/ONE released a vaguely-threatening video imploring Mixon to “tell the people of this city the truth.”
Mixon told reporters that NO/ONE never assaulted officers before at least two opened fire from a hovering helicopter nearby, as he stated after the shooting last week. Three city police officers are on administrative leave, he said, pending the outcome of an internal investigation.
“NO/ONE did not assault any officers,” Mixon said. “There was a mistake in our accounting. That’s about all I have to say, due to the ongoing investigations.”
Mixon didn’t say why his account changed, and declined to answer most questions about the shooting. NO/ONE released a video last week, from what appears to be a camera worn by the hacktivist, showing him running across downtown rooftops before he’s surrounded by police. At the end of the video, text appeared accusing Mixon of lying “to curry political favor” and saying he did not attack police.
“I have video proof of their incompetence,” the text read. “You have one week … tell them why you want me as your scapegoat. Or I’ll show them.”
Mixon, during a press conference after the shooting last week, told reporters that officers were “assaulted” by a masked man spotted near a murder scene who fled police after they told him to stop, and said the suspect “attacked” an officer “with a Taser-like device.”
At the time, police said they believe the person officers fired upon was NO/ONE, suspected of leaking damning records showing transgressions by men who later were found shot all across the city, crimes dubbed “The Accountability Murders.”
Chief Mixon’s office summoned reporters to Police Headquarters for a press conference on Tuesday and said police officials would provide an update into the murder of a college football coach downtown last week.
Instead, a disheveled Mixon emerged and stood alone at a podium and read from a prepared statement.
“Due to the ongoing investigation, I’m not at liberty to discuss particulars of the officer-involved shooting or the tragedy that led our officers to the scene,” Mixon said, referring to the murder of Three Rivers University Football Coach Nate Cade. “But, for the sake of transparency, my office felt it imperative that we share these details with the public.”
Sources told the Ledger that at least one body-worn camera was on at the time police opened fire, and that parts of that video appear to undermine public statements Mixon made. NO/ONE doesn’t appear armed in the video he released, and sources told the Ledger that investigators now believe he was not armed.
The status of state police officers who opened fire from a helicopter is not known and a spokesperson didn’t respond to requests for comment, or respond to a list of questions sent by a Ledger reporter.
The Pittsburgh Police Department didn’t confirm the authenticity of the video released by NO/ONE, but sources told the Ledger the videos appeared authentic and internal affairs is looking into how it was recorded and how it may fold into their investigation of the police shooting.