A video circulating in Monongahela appears to show an on-duty police officer using a homophobic slur while speaking to a group of teenagers, including a 15-year-old boy on a bike. The footage has prompted the city's police chief to confirm the officer is a member of his department, even as key details about the encounter and any resulting discipline remain unclear.
According to WPXI, the 15-year-old's family gave the station permission to share the video publicly. CBS News Pittsburgh, which first brought the footage to wider attention, reported that the clip shows the officer confronting the teen on his bike and using an anti-gay slur during the exchange. KDKA reporter Shelley Bortz also reported on the incident.
Per QBurgh, the video includes the officer threatening to jail the teenager once he turns 18, telling him, “When you turn 18, I'll be glad to put you in jail, you f****t.” The outlet reported the remark as part of its account of the confrontation, which has circulated among residents of the Washington County city roughly 25 miles south of Pittsburgh.
What Led Up to the Confrontation
The boy's mother said on Facebook that her son and the other teenagers involved had been loitering and making noise at a McDonald's before the officer arrived, the station's report noted. That account, offered by the teen's mother rather than police, is the only explanation currently available for what prompted the encounter.
Monongahela Police Chief Kevin Harris confirmed to WPXI that the officer in the video is employed by the department and said he is working to address the officer's behavior, according to QBurgh's account of the chief's statement. Harris's comments mark the only official acknowledgment so far that the officer in question is on the city's force.
Unanswered Questions About Discipline
The officer has not been officially identified in connection with the incident, and it remains unclear whether the department has initiated a formal investigation, placed the officer on administrative leave, or taken disciplinary action, per the same QBurgh report. No department policy, statute, or further government statement addressing the conduct has been made public.
This is not the first time a Monongahela police officer has faced serious allegations. In a separate and unrelated 2019 case, former officer Dustin DeVault was charged with indecent assault, official oppression, and obstructing the administration of law or another governmental function, according to WTAE. DeVault had been employed by the City of Monongahela from November 2014 until his removal in January 2019, the station reported at the time.
For now, the latest video stands as the central piece of evidence in the case, with the teen's family and the police chief offering the only public comments. Residents in the small Washington County city are left watching to see whether the department will say more about what happens next.
