Officer in Shadyside shooting faces grueling recovery
Pittsburgh police Officer Janine Triolo underwent two surgeries Friday and likely will face several more as she recovers from a brutal beating by a robbery suspect she shot to death.
Doctors inserted pins in Triolo's left hand and reset her shattered nose, Chief Nate Harper said. Investigators believe her hand was so badly injured because she used it to shield her face as the man struck her with his hands and the gun that jammed when he tried to shoot her.
"With the blessing of God we are not attending another police officer's funeral," Harper said.
Police provided an update on Triolo's recovery and more details about her fatal encounter in Shadyside with Ryan Davis, 20, of Lawrenceville. She is "resting as comfortably as can be expected" and will remain in the hospital for several days, Harper said.
Triolo, 28, a three-year veteran of the police bureau, was patrolling Wednesday night near Schenley High School when she spotted Davis, who matched the description of someone who just robbed a man at gunpoint on nearby Denniston Avenue.
Triolo told Davis to put his hands on the brick wall of a building and as she patted him down, he drew his arms in at his waist and she "became concerned that he was concealing something," Deputy Chief Paul Donaldson said.
Triolo handcuffed Davis' right hand and he "turned around and punched her," Donaldson said.
He knocked her to the ground, straddled her and began "pummeling her," Donaldson said. It's likely he beat her with the handcuffs, his fists and a 9mm Ruger pistol he carried, said Assistant Chief Maurita Bryant.
Davis tried to get Triolo's gun out of her holster but the holster's locking mechanism kept it in, Donaldson said. Triolo got her gun out and shot Davis twice in the chest, Harper said.
"She truly believed she was shooting in defense of her life," Harper said. "She was very dazed and trying not to lose consciousness, and she remembers bits and pieces of what happened."
Footprints in snow led from the scene of the earlier robbery to where Triolo confronted Davis, Harper said, causing investigators to believe Davis was the robber. Surveillance video from nearby businesses show a man matching Davis' description walking from the robbery scene and crossing in front of Triolo's patrol car.
Davis was on probation for a guilty plea last year to a gun charge.
Bryant said Davis tried to shoot Triolo and the robbery victim, but his gun jammed. When police recovered it -- Triolo was clutching it under her arm when backup officers arrived -- the chamber held a round. The Allegheny County Crime Lab will test the pistol to determine why it didn't fire.
The gun was owned by someone "outside of Pittsburgh," Bryant said, and was not reported stolen.
Harper said Triolo, who suffered a concussion, detached retina, shattered eye socket and scrapes and bruises, has blurry vision and probably will need additional surgery on her hand.
"She's in pretty good spirits," Harper said. "I offered to fly her down to Florida but she won't leave Pittsburgh."
