The Pittsburgh police union has filed a grievance over a new policy that bans officers from wearing baseball caps and requires them to wear their bullet-resistant vests underneath uniforms rather than outside them.
The union argued in its grievance dated Sunday that the officers’ formal hats are cumbersome and that many officers have said they will not wear vests beneath their shirts because they are hot, cause changes to their skin and that they limit their movement.
Sonya Toler, Pittsburgh public safety spokeswoman, said Wednesday that public safety director Stephen Bucar, a former FBI agent, wants officers to look professional but not “tactical.”
“Research shows that clothing plays a large role in how a person is perceived. The same holds true for police officers,” she said in an email. “In fact, there is a body of research suggesting that even slight alterations to the style of the uniform will change how citizens, including criminals, perceive the officer.”
Among the studies she cited were some conducted through the FBI and U.S. Department of Justice.
In its grievance, the police union says that members of the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge No. 1 met with Mr. Bucar Friday to discuss the changes. It quotes Mr. Bucar as saying that external vests make officers look “military” and baseball caps make them look like “mall guards.”
Changes in the standards for vest materials have caused rashes and overheating, and as a result, Pittsburgh officers were previously allowed to purchase outside vests, according to the grievance.
The union also argues that Mr. Bucar has an outer vest himself.
The union wrote that the dress uniform hat is “cumbersome” and “non functional for the variety of duties a police officer performs.”
“Furthermore, no information has been provided to the FOP that citizens or criminals are confused regarding the identity of Pittsburgh Police Officers while wearing the approved baseball cap,” the grievance ends.
Ms. Toler said the public safety department would not comment on the grievance specifically. She said Mr. Bucar wants officers’ uniforms to give a message of “power” and “authority.”
“However,” she said, “he wants that message to be conveyed in a professional manner not a tactical manner. Wearing the vests on the outside conveys a tactical message that [the director] believes is not necessary during normal patrolling.”
Officer Howard McQuillan, president of the Pittsburgh police union, did not respond to a request for comment Wednesday.
Liz Navratil: lnavratil@post-gazette.com, 412-263-1438 or on Twitter @LizNavratil.