Former Pittsburgh Police Commander Matthew Lackner, who was accused of illegally recording conversations of fellow officers, has been admitted into the Accelerated rehabilitative disposition program, also known as ARD.
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It’s a program for first-time offenders that allows criminal charges to be expunged upon the successful completion of a probationary period. As long as Lackner pays restitution and stays out of trouble for the next two years, the criminal case can be expunged.
Lackner will likely retain his city pension as well.
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The former Zone 2 (Hill District) Commander was accused of hiding a police body camera in a detective’s car and illegally recording conversations. He also allegedly hid his own police-issued body cam and used it to illegally record conversations with fellow officers and planted a police body camera underneath a police cruiser to utilize the GPS function of the body camera to track the location of the vehicle.
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Under Pennsylvania law, all parties must know and consent to the audio recording of their conversations.
An officer spotted Lackner around the detective’s car and notified the detectives. They eventually found the body camera. The Police Bureau then launched an investigation and charges were filed against Lackner.
Lackner retired before the charges were filed.
A handful of officers, who claim their conversations were illegally recorded, have filed a federal lawsuit against Lackner, accusing him of violating their civil rights.
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