Larry Scirotto nominated to become Pittsburgh's next police chief

Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey has nominated Larry Scirotto to be the city’s next police chief.

The nomination, announced Wednesday to a large crowd gathered at the City-County Building in Downtown, needs City Council approval to become official.

“Every candidate we interviewed was great, (but) Larry rose to the top. His deep love for the city, his knowledge of the bureau, and his outsider perspective make him the right choice for chief of police,” Gainey said.

Scirotto, 49, is a veteran Pittsburgh cop who briefly led the police force in Fort Lauderdale. He retired from the Pittsburgh force in 2018 as an assistant chief, having served in everything from the K-9 unit to the major crimes division.

He later served as chief of the Fort Lauderdale department for less than a year, resigning in 2022 amid controversy over his minority promotions. Scirotto, who has filed a wrongful termination lawsuit against the Florida city, said the promotions were based on merit.

“I know this city. I know this organization — I know its strengths and I know its weaknesses,” Scirotto said after being announced as the nominee. “Man, it’s good to be home … there’s no place like home and there’s no place like Pittsburgh.”

He also took a moment to speak directly to the Pittsburgh force’s rank and file.

“I support you, I respect you, and I value what you bring to the Bureau of Police,” he said. “Don’t be limited by imagination. Don’t be limited by past practices — be creative.”

Scirotto will make $180,000 a year in the chief’s post, if he is confirmed by City Council. He is tentatively scheduled to start in the new role on May 8.

Council President Theresa Kail-Smith, D-West End, said there is no timetable for when council plans to interview Scirotto or vote on his appointment. He can serve as acting chief for up to six months before council needs to vote to keep him in the position permanently.

Kail-Smith said she also is considering holding a public hearing to hear from the community prior to the vote. A public hearing is not required for appointments but can be conducted at the request of council members.

“I think we have to address all the concerns we’re hearing, but we have to address the positive as well,” she said. “What I’m excited to hear is his experience and what he thinks from his knowledge of Pittsburgh.”

Kail-Smith said she had a good relationship with Scirotto when he previously worked in her council district.

Councilman Anthony Coghill, D-Beechview, said he would “withhold judgment” until council interviewed Scirotto, but said he’d heard “some good, some bad” from rank-and-file officers. He did not elaborate.

Councilman Bobby Wilson, D-North Side, said he’s looking for a “strong partnership” with the new chief to address concerns about public safety he’s heard from residents and business owners.

“Ultimately, we’re looking for his vision (of) what’s needed at the bureau, because as we continue to talk about re-envisioning policing and how that’s going to play out in the next few years, it’s going to be very important to have a chief who’s on board,” he said.

Scirotto said one of his tasks will be to re-evaluate the bureau and potentially reorganize it. He expects the review to take place in the next three months.

“We have a lot of work to do,” he said.

Gainey has been working with committees, almost entirely behind closed doors, for nearly six months to find a successor to former Chief Scott Schubert, who announced his retirement last year. Acting Chief Thomas Stangrecki, a Pittsburgh police veteran of nearly 35 years, has been leading Western Pennsylvania’s largest law-enforcement agency since Schubert’s departure.

Stangrecki will return to the position of deputy chief on May 8, Gainey spokesperson Maria Montano told the Tribune-Review.

Public Safety Director Lee Schmidt confirmed Wednesday that members of the search committee signed nondisclosure agreements with the city, and said the process of selecting a police chief “is not really a public process.”

Gainey and his office remained tight-lipped during the search and missed self-imposed deadlines to make the big announcement. Scirotto was one of three finalists to emerge, along with Frederick, Md., police Chief Jason Lando and former Boise police Chief Ryan Lee.

Lando served 21 of his 23 years in law enforcement with the Pittsburgh police, most recently for six years as its Zone 5 commander. He retired from the Pittsburgh force in March 2021.

Scirotto, who is biracial, joined the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police in 1995, climbing the ranks to become assistant chief before retiring in 2018. During his tenure, he also headed the major crimes unit.

Scirotto will head a department aching from staff shortages and a recent spike in violent crime.

Pittsburgh police’s ranks could fall below 700 officers — 250 less than the city budget calls for — by 2025, officials said recently.

Thirty-five Pittsburgh police officers retired in 2022, while another 39 officers resigned, many leaving for other area police departments. Coghill estimated at a recent council meeting on policing that 66 officers will leave this year and another 66 next year.

Though Pittsburgh police now have about 820 active officers, that number is down significantly from the 1990s, when federal programs helped fund a bureau with some 1,700 officers.

Scirotto currently lives in Dallas and officiates NCAA basketball games. Gainey said Scirotto has agreed to not officiate games while serving as chief in Pittsburgh.

Reporter Julia Felton contributed to this story.