By Jill King Greenwood
The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
PITTSBURGH, Penn. — Today marks the two-year anniversary of the shooting of Forest Hills police Officer Matt Livingstone, and investigators are still trying to find the man responsible for trying to gun him down.
A man opened fire on Livingstone, 28, on April 23, 2005, as Livingstone responded to a call about a suspicious person loitering in the Braddock Hills Shopping Center parking lot, Allegheny County Police Lt. Christopher Kearns said.
Livingstone saw a man who matched the description called in to police a few minutes earlier, County police Detective Gary Hall said.
Livingstone called to the man and stepped away from his patrol car. That’s when he was ambushed. A shot went through the armhole of Livingstone’s bulletproof vest, entered his underarm and lodged in his chest, Kearns said.
The gunman ran from the scene as other officers arrived. Officers chased the suspect for about a mile but lost track of him, Kearns said.
Livingstone was seriously injured and could not returned to full-time duty until November 2006, Forest Hills police Chief Bill Fabrizi said.
“This case is not a cold case to me. It’s an unsolved one and should be top priority for everyone involved,” Fabrizi said. “The guy who shot my officer is still out there on the streets, and anyone who is willing to shoot a police officer is willing to shoot anyone at any time. There’s a complete disregard for human life there.”
Livingstone declined to comment for this story.
Livingstone’s shooting was the third shooting of a Forest Hills police officer in 22 months, Fabrizi said.
Officer Edward Limbacher, 33, was part of a state Attorney General’s drug task force that was closing in on Courtney Cox, 18, of the Hill District in a sting operation June 23, 2003 in the Forest Hills Plaza shopping center. Police said Cox opened fire, striking Limbacher in the stomach and the upper right arm. Cox was convicted of attempted homicide.
Limbacher was not able to return to duty, Fabrizi said.
On Nov. 9, 2004, Sgt. Edward Hinchey, 41, was hit in the chest and leg when Eugene Aiello, 31, Turtle Creek, opened fire after police officers approached his car, police said. Hinchey was critically injured and hasn’t been able to return to duty, Fabrizi said.
Hinchey and another officer returned fire, fatally wounding Aiello.
“It’s very important to us that we solve Officer Livingstone’s shooting,” Fabrizi said. “Officers put their lives on the line every day for the public.”
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