Pittsburgh City Council President R. Daniel Lavelle on Tuesday said he was not seeking any punishment for the sergeant at arms who called for backup during a heated council meeting last week despite issuing a public statement calling for an investigation into the incident.

John Svitek, a uniformed Pittsburgh police officer assigned as council’s sergeant at arms, last week asked for additional law enforcement during a standing committees meeting.

Lavelle, D-Hill District, and Councilman Khari Mosley, D-Point Breeze, in a statement called for a report on why he called for assistance. The pair said they did not feel extra law enforcement was necessary.

But Lavelle, Mosley and other council members at a Tuesday council meeting lauded Svitek’s character and suggested better protocols should be in place so there are clearer expectations about when a sergeant at arms should call for backup and who he should notify.

More than 70 people packed council chambers last week, most of them there to voice support for the Stop the Violence fund during a public comment period at the beginning of the meeting.

Lavelle indicated numerous people reached out to him in the days after the meeting, questioning why additional police were called after “a room full of Black people show up.”

The crowd at the meeting was predominantly Black. Lavelle and Mosley are both Black. Svitek is white.

On Sunday, Tim Stevens, chairman and CEO of the Black Political Empowerment Project, sent a letter to council questioning the decision to call for reinforcements suggested the sergeant at arms”be immediately removed from that very sensitive position and that someone be put in his place who will not fear Pittsburgh citizens who may not look like him…”

There are typically two sergeants at arms who monitor council meetings, but one was unavailable that day due to a medical issue, officials said.

After Svitek asked his supervisor for backup, two deputies from the Allegheny County Sheriff’s Office briefly arrived on the fifth floor — where council chambers and the mayor’s office are located — but left quickly. Four city police officers responded and remained on hand for a short time.

“In that moment, the optics looked really bad, and that’s what people were reacting to — and understandably so,” Lavelle said.

Lavelle said he felt he needed to address those concerns, but he was not seeking any punishments for Svitek.

Mosley said he felt it was a “teachable moment” for everyone.

He said he was unaware that the second sergeant at arms was unavailable at the time. He suggested there could be better protocols in place for what to do in such situations or on days when larger-than-usual crowds congregate.

“Not all fingers should be pointed at John,” Mosley said.

Councilman Anthony Coghill, D-Beechview, criticized the statement Lavelle and Mosley issued as a “character assassination” and defended the officer’s actions.

“I don’t think there was anything wrong with what he did,” Coghill said. “We can argue, was it a good judgment call or not? But he did what he thought was right.”

Councilwoman Theresa Kail-Smith, D-West End, pointed out that officials have had extra police on hand before. When council contemplated controversial gun legislation several years ago, she said, SWAT officers, snipers and police dogs were stationed in the building in case things got out of hand.

She said she did not believe race played a role in the officer’s decision to call for backup. She also said Svitek had been told to follow his chain of command, elevating potential issues to his boss in the police bureau rather than council members.

“I think that’s what he did that day,” she said.

Kail-Smith said the additional officers were meant to keep everyone — including members of the public — safe.

“It’s to protect everyone, including the visitors,” she said.

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