A Pittsburgh social worker’s attempt to reinstate the use of leg shackles by jail officials in hospital transports cleared a major hurdle Tuesday — getting enough signatures from county residents to get the issue to be considered by County Council.

John Kenstowicz has worked for months to get council to consider reinstating leg shackles after a referendum passed by county voters years ago banned the practice. Mr. Kenstowicz and Brian Englert, president of the correctional officers’ union at the county jail, have traveled across the county in recent months, gathering well over the 500 signatures needed to use a not-often-used part of the county charter.

According to the charter, if a person gathers 500 signatures from registered county voters on petitions on a single subject “germane to C

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