Pittsburgh teen chaperone policy faces lawsuit
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A Homewood resident sued the city, its police department and the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership last week, saying Pittsburgh's new chaperone policy unlawfully "violates" teenagers' constitutional rights.
Why it matters: The lawsuit is the first legal challenge to Pittsburgh's effort to curb the large teen gatherings that have disrupted parts of the city this year.
- Some of the gatherings in the city this year have turned violent, led to arrests, and disrupted events in Downtown, at public pools and at a Target.
Context: Teens have organized large meetups in cities nationwide that local officials have dubbed "teen takeovers."
- Some cities have responded with curfews aimed at keeping minors from congregating in public, although research shows they aren't effective. Others enforce "no unaccompanied minors" policies, which teen advocates say punish all young people for the actions of a few.
Catch up quick: The city and the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership (PDP) implemented a policy that took effect April 30 requiring anyone 18 and under to be accompanied by a chaperone 21 or older to enter Market Square from 3pm-midnight Thursday-Sunday.
Driving the news: Homewood resident Renee Wilson's lawsuit said the policy violates teens' rights, including "freedom of movement, assembly, parental rights, equal protections, and due process."
Zoom in: The lawsuit objected to PDP's role in administering the chaperone policy and said that something needed to be done to push back against a narrative that all teenagers are disruptive in public.
- "I'm not a lawyer," Wilson told TribLive last week. "I'm not trying to be a lawyer. I wish I didn't have to. But at the same time, I'm not going to let something really detrimental continue to go on."
The city and PDP declined to comment due to the ongoing litigation.
What they're saying: Pittsburgh City Councilmember Barb Warwick (D-Greenfield) also opposes the chaperone policy. She said during a May council meeting that "not only does this feel highly unwelcoming to families with teens, it also seems questionable in terms even of enforcement."
The other side: Ernest Bey, who works as a violence interrupter for the REACH community outreach group, said at a town hall in Homewood last week that the policy has been effective in lowering disruptive gatherings.
Pittsburgh public safety director Sheldon Williams said at the town hall that the policy is a specific response to disruptive behavior.
- "It's always about response to behavior, and I want to be clear when I say that it's never about the people in the space; it's about the behavior in the space that we are told," he said.
What's next: A trial date has not been set.