Pittsburgh City Council to vote on Larry Scirotto's appointment as police chief

Pittsburgh City Council is scheduled to vote Tuesday on Larry Scirotto’s nomination as the city’s new police chief.

Mayor Ed Gainey earlier this month announced Scirotto as his nominee to be the city’s police chief. Scirotto, 49, retired from the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police in 2018 as an assistant chief, and then briefly led the police force in Fort Lauderdale.

He has been serving as acting chief since May 8. Council had up to six months to vote to appoint him as chief, but Council President Theresa Kail-Smith said council members saw no reason to wait.

“I was going to hold it because I thought maybe we could wait until his acting term was expired,” Kail-Smith said Monday morning. “After talking to members, they didn’t see any value in holding it. They were ready to vote.”

She said council members who still had questions for the acting chief ahead of Tuesday’s vote were speaking with him Monday.

Council members publicly asked an array of questions in an hourslong discussion with Scirotto during an interview last week. Scirotto during the interview addressed topics ranging from racial profiling to police brutality.

Kail-Smith had previously said she also wanted to hold a public hearing where the public could offer their input, but decided against it. She instead decided to host a public reception where people could converse with Scirotto and he could interact with people more personally. That has not yet been scheduled, but Kail-Smith said she’s hoping to host it within about three weeks.

“For me personally, I’ve worked with him in the past,” Kail-Smith said. “This is the mayor’s choice as who he wants to put forward as his chief. We want to work with the mayor. I think it’s in the best interest to have a permanent chief.”

Kail-Smith said council members have had the opportunity to discuss with Scirotto issues that are of particular concern to them in their own districts, and she said he addressed all of her concerns well enough that she was comfortable putting his nomination to a vote.

“I believe he understands and values the officers and wants to work toward a more unified bureau,” she said. “If the police officers don’t feel valued, they’re not going to feel comfortable doing the jobs we need them to do.”

Former Chief Scott Schubert retired last summer, and Deputy Chief Thomas Stangrecki served as acting chief in the interim. He has since returned to the position of deputy chief.

Related:

• Larry Scirotto nominated to become Pittsburgh's next police chief

• Pittsburgh's acting police chief addresses racial profiling, police brutality in City Council interview

• Larry Scirotto takes reins of Pittsburgh police with list of priorities