Authorities ID man fatally shot by Brentwood police

Authorities on Thursday identified the man fatally shot a day earlier by a Brentwood police officer as Craig W. McGrath of Pittsburgh.

McGrath, 37, was shot multiple times Wednesday in Brentwood.

Investigators said that an armed McGrath rammed a police vehicle while driving a stolen car and fought with an officer.

Brentwood police and borough officials did not respond Thursday to numerous phone calls and emails seeking comment.

The incident with McGrath began around 5 p.m. Wednesday when an Allegheny County Police officer reported a stolen vehicle on Brownsville Road in South Park, according to an account posted to Facebook by county police, who are investigating the shooting.

The vehicle was reported stolen out of Carnegie, according to Jim Madalinsky, a county police spokesman.

The officer tried to stop the vehicle, a black Nissan Rogue, but it took off, police said.

Six minutes later, Brentwood officers spotted the car on Route 51 and started chasing it, police said.

During the pursuit, McGrath rammed a Brentwood police vehicle on Laveton Road, according to county police, who did not explain further.

At 5:09 pm, McGrath ran out of the vehicle along Check Way, a Brentwood alley, police said.

McGrath fought with a police officer during the brief foot chase, police said without providing details.

The officer “discovered” that McGrath was carrying a gun, according to investigators, who did not give any more of an explanation.

The officer fired several shots, striking McGrath multiple times, police said.

Police have not said what McGrath was doing when the officer fired, whether he was holding a gun or why specifically the officer fired at that moment.

McGrath was taken to UPMC Mercy hospital, where doctors pronounced him dead at 5:43 p.m., police and the medical examiner said.

Madalinsky told TribLive that police recovered a gun at the scene but he would not elaborate.

The medical examiner’s office listed the location of the incident as Hillson Avenue at Brownsville Road.

Madalinsky said that the fight and shooting happened in a backyard in the 100 block of Hillson Avenue, which runs parallel to Check Way.

Investigators have not identified any of the officers involved in the incident.

The medical examiner has not yet determined a cause or manner of death.

The office described the case in an email blast to media as “Male found unresponsive and transported to UPMC Mercy.”