In the early morning hours of April 4, 2009, a domestic disturbance call from a mother concerned about her son set in motion a tragic chain of events that would end in the death of three Pittsburgh police officers, including 29-year-old Stephen James Mayhle. A male officer with two years on the force, Mayhle and his partner, Officer Paul Sciullo II, were the first to arrive at the Stanton Heights home of Margaret Poplawski.
She had called 911 to request that her 22-year-old son, Richard Poplawski, be removed from the residence.
Unbeknownst to the responding officers, Poplawski was heavily armed and waiting for them. As they entered the home, Poplawski, wearing a bulletproof vest, opened fire with a shotgun, immediately killing Officer Sciullo. Officer Mayhle returned fire, managing to wound Poplawski in the leg, but was then fatally shot in the head with an AK-47. The violence escalated as Officer Eric G. Kelly, who was on his way home from an overnight shift, heard the call for help and rushed to the scene. As he attempted to aid his fallen colleagues, he too was shot and killed by Poplawski.
The incident devolved into a four-hour standoff with Richard Poplawski, who continued to fire at other responding officers, injuring one more. After being wounded himself, Poplawski eventually surrendered to police. He was arrested and subsequently charged with the murders of the three officers. During his trial, testimony revealed that Poplawski had fired numerous rounds from multiple weapons. A neighbor testified to witnessing Poplawski shoot Officer Mayhle as he lay wounded on the ground.
In June 2011, Richard Poplawski was convicted by a jury on three counts of first-degree murder. The same jury subsequently sentenced him to death by lethal injection for the killings of Officers Stephen Mayhle, Paul Sciullo II, and Eric Kelly. Following his conviction, Poplawski expressed a lack of remorse for his actions. He remains on death row, with his execution stayed pending appeals. The incident remains the single deadliest day for the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police in its history.
