Memorial to 3 slain Pittsburgh officers unveiled

PITTSBURGH (AP) — A memorial honoring three Pittsburgh police officers slain answering a call will be dedicated on the second anniversary of their deaths.

Police officers Paul Sciullo II, Stephen Mayhle and Eric Kelly were gunned down on April 4, 2009, as they approached the home of 25-year-old Richard Poplawski. He’s scheduled to stand trial in June on first-degree murder and other charges for allegedly shooting the officers with an assault rifle and wounding several others who responded to a dispute call phoned in by his mother.

The memorial will be unveiled today at noon at St. Joseph’s Church in the city’s Bloomfield neighborhood.

Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty if they’re able to convict Poplawski.