FAWN WALKER MONTGOMERY, with Take Action Mon Valley and Justice For Romir Talley, was outraged when she learned Officer Robert Gowans, who shot and killed the 24-year-old Talley as a Wilkinsburg Police Officer in 2019 and is currently under investigation, was hired by Penn Hills in April.
by Rob Taylor Jr.
Courier Staff Writer
While many people have been unemployed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Officer Robert Gowans, who is White, didn’t seem to have any trouble getting a job.
Though the former Wilkinsburg Police officer is still under investigation after the shooting death of a Black man, 24-year-old Romir Talley, in Wilkinsburg in December 2019, it became known to the public on Friday, May 14, that he applied and was subsequently hired by the Penn Hills Police Department in April.
The community wasn’t having any of that. Fawn Walker Montgomery, with Take Action Mon Valley and Justice For Romir Talley, expressed outrage over the hiring in a public statement on May 14 and then during a rally outside the Penn Hills police station, 102 Duff Road, May 17.
PENN HILLS DEPUTY MAYOR CATHY SAPP, left, with Councilman John Petrucci. Sapp said that Officer Robert Gowans had been fired from the Penn Hills police force on Monday, May 17. (Photos by Courier photographer Brian Cook Sr.)
But before she could take the microphone on May 17, Penn Hills officials met her outside the police station and said they had just fired Officer Gowans.
“This is the power of the people,” Montgomery later told supporters outside the police station. “If the people didn’t say anything, let me tell you one thing…he would still be employed.”
The Pittsburgh community is familiar with the Romir Talley shooting incident, in which Wilkinsburg officials said Talley fired a gun at Officer Gowans in an alley 15 months ago. Officer Gowans returned fire, striking and killing Talley.
Talley’s family and attorney believe he never fired a gun at the officer. The Allegheny County District Attorney’s Office is still investigating the matter.
“It was devastating for the family to find that this officer was hired by a different police force,” said the family’s attorney, Paul Jubas, at the rally held, May 17, outside the Penn Hills police station. “This is a family that has been absolutely destroyed. They know in their hearts that they raised a good kid, that they raised somebody that would not shoot at a police officer.”
PAUL JUBAS, the family attorney for Romir Talley, who was killed by former Wilkinsburg Police Officer Robert Gowans in December 2019.
But Penn Hills officials were adamant in saying they knew nothing about Officer Gowans being hired by Penn Hills in the first place. Deputy Mayor Cathy Sapp said she first heard about the news on May 14 from concerned Penn Hills residents. She told the New Pittsburgh Courier that she then immediately held a meeting with Penn Hills Council.
“As an African American mother and deputy mayor, it was important for me, as well as Council, that we maintain the safety of Penn Hills and all of our residents,” Sapp said. “We’re not here to bash Officer Gowans; we are only here to say that Penn Hills will remain a safe place to live, work and play.”
Sapp added: “Penn Hills didn’t deserve the controversy that came along with his employment.”
“The family does commend Penn Hills for making the right decision to fire him,” Jubas said. “Wilkinsburg can learn a lot from what Penn Hills did today. This is how a municipality can respect its people. Wilkinsburg has displayed no respect whatsoever towards the Talley family, towards its community.”
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