James Henry “Rip” Taylor, Jr., a sergeant with the Pittsburgh Police Department, was shot and killed in Lemington on September 22, 1995, during an altercation with local youths involved in gang activity.
Taylor, who was off duty and who lived in the area of the shooting, stopped to talk with the youth who were spraying graffiti. An argument followed and Tyrek Booker, 17, shot Taylor, who was intoxicated, with his own weapon. Booker was arrested after he turned himself in on September 26.
Charged with first-degree murder, Booker claimed at trial that he acted in self-defense. He was convicted of voluntary manslaughter and sentenced to five to ten years in prison.
State Killings in the Steel City: The History of the Death Penalty in Pittsburgh 