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Devon Flanigan

Age : 27

Gender : Male

Race : Unknown

Date : 08/05/2021

Location : Hillside in the Brighton Heights neighborhood

City : Pittsburgh

County : Allegheny

State : Pennsylvania

Agency : Pittsburgh Bureau of Police

Officer(s) :Not Disclosed

Cause of Death : Fall from height

Event : Died after falling during foot pursuit

OPEN RECORDS SUMMARY :

On 08/05/2021, at approximately 7:20–7:30 p.m., Pittsburgh Bureau of Police Zone 1 officers were patrolling the Brighton Road area when they recognized Devon Flanigan, 27, as a person wanted by police. Officers encountered him near the 3100 block of Brighton Road in Pittsburgh’s Marshall-Shadeland neighborhood. Police did not publicly disclose the warrant, alleged offense or other reason Flanigan was wanted.
Flanigan continued running away while officers pursued him on foot. He ran up a set of outdoor steps and attempted to pass through a row of bushes or hedges at the top of a steep hillside. Flanigan went through the vegetation and fell down the rocky slope, landing on Brighton Road below in the 3200 block. Police said no officer physically contacted Flanigan before he fell.
Emergency personnel transported Flanigan to Allegheny General Hospital in critical condition. He remained hospitalized for 13 days and died shortly after 3:00 a.m. on 08/18/2021. The Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office identified him following his death.
Pittsburgh police officers had activated their body-worn cameras before or during the foot pursuit. Police said the recordings showed the officers pursuing Flanigan up the hillside and Flanigan slipping or falling after attempting to pass through the vegetation. The body-camera recordings do not appear to have been publicly released.
Because Pittsburgh Bureau of Police officers participated in the pursuit, the Allegheny County Police Department assumed responsibility for investigating the circumstances of Flanigan’s fall. The county police department’s investigative role does not make it an agency directly involved in the encounter. No participating officer was identified in the available public reporting.
Public reporting did not identify the underlying warrant, disclose a final investigative report or announce criminal or administrative findings against the officers. No publicly reported civil lawsuit or settlement arising from Flanigan’s death was located.

SOURCE LINKS :

https://www.cbsnews.com/pittsburgh/news/man-falls-over-hillside-police-chase-brighton-heights/
https://www.post-gazette.com/local/city/2021/08/19/pittsburgh-man-dies-falls-off-hill-running-from-police-chase-brighton-road-heights-marshall-shadeland/stories/202108190126
https://www.wpxi.com/news/top-stories/man-running-pittsburgh-police-plunges-over-rocky-hillside-during-foot-chase/LLTIDJ5MQNGPXJLGRUD244OJ2Y/
https://www.wtae.com/article/man-hospitalized-after-falling-down-hillside-during-police-chase/37237494