Published: April 14, 2009 08:09 am      

Pittsburgh police shooting hearing moved to county court

PITTSBURGH — The preliminary hearing for a man accused of fatally shooting three Pittsburgh police officers has been moved to an Allegheny County courtroom to improve public access and security.

The hearing for Richard Poplawski had been scheduled in City Court, along with a raft of other homicide cases on Friday.

Instead, county court administrators say the hearing will be held in the county courthouse at 10 a.m. that day by itself.

On Tuesday, a county judge will hear arguments from Poplawski’s public defender, Lisa Middleman, who wants a gag order on police and prosecutors. She says they’re tainting the potential jury pool by speaking about details of the case and Poplawski’s allegedly casual demeanor when he was interrogated about the April 4 shootings.