Community meetings set in search for next Pittsburgh police chief

Beth Pittinger thinks about Pittsburgh Police’s next chief and sees a world of opportunity.

The director of the Citizens Police Review Board believes retired Chief Scott Schubert’s successor, who Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey plans to appoint after a national search, could be a beacon for accountability.

“It would need to be someone who could nurture the rebuilding of a contemporary police department — it’s not an easy job,” Pittinger said. “I think overall what we in the community desire is someone who has experience that is broad, a person that is aware of best practices (and)a person who cares about accountability,” she added. “What we don’t want to do is repeat the policies and problems of the past.”

Now, the Gainey administration wants to hear from you.

It will sponsor five “safe neighborhoods” listening sessions to gauge public opinion and seek community input on the search for Pittsburgh’s next chief of police. The first session takes place Monday at Carrick High School, with sessions ending Nov. 5 with a virtual-only Zoom meeting.

“What we’re really looking forward to is hearing from community members about they’re looking for in a chief,” said Maria Montano, a spokeswoman for Gainey. “This is one of the most important decisions that the mayor can make in the city.”

Montano also pointed to Gainey’s “Plan for Peace,” which includes a city commitment to community policing, a law enforcement approach that “allows officers to continuously work in and get to know specific neighborhoods, in order to create a stronger bond with the people living and working in that area.”

One of Gainey’s community policing initiatives includes “building a caring culture within the Bureau of Police that fosters and incentivizes emphasis on community relationships as a way to meet law enforcement goals, with specific training around respect for communities and community concepts of justice and co-producing community health and safety.”

A Pittsburgh Police spokesperson, when asked about the search for the new chief and the upcoming meetings, declined comment. The Fraternal Order of Police Lodge #1 also declined comment until the candidates for the position are known.

Gainey ran for mayor in Pittsburgh last year on a platform that included firing and disciplining officers who commit police misconduct. This March, five officers were fired after a misconduct investigation following the death of Jim Rogers, a man who died after being struck by a taser multiple times in Bloomfield.

The meetings

The Gainey administration will hold listening sessions on the next police chief:

• Monday, Oct. 24, 6 to 8 p.m., Carrick High School
• Wednesday, Oct. 26, 6 to 8 p.m., PPG Paints Arena
• Tuesday, Nov. 1, 6 to 8 p.m., Perry Traditional Academy
• Thursday, Nov. 3, 6 to 8 p.m., Community Empowerment Association
• Saturday, Nov. 5, 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
• Register here