Pittsburgh Police chief says there will be enough officers staffed on the South Side this weekend

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- It's going to be a busy weekend throughout the city and Pittsburgh Police Chief Larry Scirotto says there will be enough officers staffed on the South Side.

Their focus will be keeping East Carson Street calm after an officer suffered a broken leg during a fight outside of a bar last weekend.

Chief Scirotto says the problems on the South Side are not because of a lack of officers, but because bars are not being held accountable.

On the weekends, the department has 25 police officers on the South Side in addition to the ten that are part of the entertainment patrol.

Chief Scirotto also said that 60% of the arrests on the South Side are from people from outside the city.

"I'm thankful that we have a level of cooperation to hold problematic business owners accountable," Scirotto said. "For far too long, some of the businesses over there, and there are just a few to be quite honest, that operate in a manner that they don't take accountability for the actions and behavior of their patrons, as if once those individuals get outside, it's the responsibility of the police and not the responsibility of the bar ownership to regulate the type of client they solicit and more importantly, their behavior."

Last Saturday, Sgt. Andrew Robinson, the head of the entertainment patrol, tried to calm down a situation at Oddballs, a Carson Street bar, and ended up in a fight that left him with a broken leg and ankle.

Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen Zappala said there were 11 police reports filed at the bar since May.

The owners of Oddballs have agreed to close, but Zappala says their license is able to be transferred and moved to wherever they want to go.

Scirotto also noted that it's problematic that the suspect arrested in the fight last weekend was let out of jail after paying only 10% of his bail.