Off-duty Pittsburgh detective charged in road rage
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Detective Bradley Walker -- 17-year police veteran arrested by state police, also faces internal police bureau charges.
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A Pittsburgh police detective ordered to anger-management three years ago was arrested Monday on charges that he choked a motorist and threatened him with a pistol during a weekend road-rage incident.
Bradley Walker, 43, of Chartiers, who normally works in plainclothes in the city's Hill District station, was assigned to administrative duty after state police charged him with aggravated assault, simple assault, reckless endangerment, criminal mischief and unlawful restraint in an incident that happened about 10:15 a.m. Saturday, when Detective Walker was off-duty.
State police said he was involved in a "minor sideswipe collision" with another motorist, Jarret J. Fate, 29, on the outbound side of the Parkway East near the Oakland exit.
Detective Walker ran up to Mr. Fate's 1975 Porsche and started kicking the driver's side door, Mr. Fate told troopers. The detective, who stands 6 feet 1 and weighs 250 pounds, punched and shattered the window and windshield, then reached into the car and choked Mr. Fate, who tried to escape by driving onto a berm, police wrote in a criminal complaint.
Detective Walker followed after him, pulling his car in front of Mr. Fate's so he couldn't drive away. Police said he got out of the car again and continued to punch and kick Mr. Fate's car before pulling a handgun from his belt and pointing it at him. Mr. Fate said he gave his license and insurance information to the detective, who copied it down and threw it back at him.
State police said they arrested Detective Walker Monday afternoon and lodged him in the Allegheny County Jail. He was later released on an unsecured $25,000 bond and the condition that he have no contact with Mr. Fate. The detective, a 17-year veteran of the force, also faces internal police bureau charges, said Chief Nathan Harper, who declined to comment further.
Neither Detective Walker nor Mr. Fate could be reached for comment Monday night.
First Published May 4, 2010 12:00 am
