Pittsburgh council OKs Devine as acting police chief through rest of Gainey's term

Martin Devine can stay Pittsburgh’s acting police chief through the rest of Mayor Ed Gainey’s tenure.

City Council on Thursday unanimously approved a measure to allow Devine to lead the police bureau until Feb. 1, 2026.

Gainey, who lost in last week’s Democratic primary, will end his term a month before that.

Devine’s presence will lend some consistency in leadership to a police bureau that has seen a carousel of people in the chief’s office under Gainey.

“This extension will allow for continuity in bureau leadership until after the inauguration of the city’s next mayor,” Gainey wrote in a letter to council members.

Devine, a former assistant chief, took over the bureau after Christopher Ragland, then the acting chief, announced his retirement in March.

Gainey had nominated Ragland to serve in a permanent capacity. But Ragland retired instead, blaming “political football” for his departure.

Ragland did not expand on the political pressures that led to his resignation.

The mayor nominates candidates for police chief, who then must secure council approval.

Some council members have told TribLive they did not believe Gainey should appoint a new chief to the post after he lost the primary to Allegheny County Controller Corey O’Connor, widely considered the front-runner to become Pittsburgh’s next mayor.

O’Connor said Gainey had not talked to him about the decision to keep Devine in place. O’Connor said he and Gainey have not spoken since election night.

“I think they’re doing the right thing,” O’Connor told TribLive on Thursday. “The new mayor — whoever it may be — gets to select the new chief and the direction they want to take the department.”

O’Connor, who will face off against Republican candidate and former Pittsburgh police officer Tony Moreno in the November general election, said he has not yet compiled a list of top cop candidates.

Moreno agreed Gainey made the right choice, calling Devine a “good man and a good police officer.”

“He will fill this position appropriately,” Moreno said. “And when I become the mayor of Pittsburgh, I hope he would put himself in for consideration to be the chief.”

Devine is the fifth person to serve as chief or acting chief since Gainey took office in January 2022.

Ragland had taken the helm after former Chief Larry Scirotto resigned amid controversy last year when he resumed a part-time gig refereeing college basketball, despite publicly assuring council members he would not do so while serving as chief.

Some officials have voiced concerns that the rapid leadership changes would spark instability in a bureau already struggling to recruit and retain officers.

Councilman Anthony Coghill, D-Beechview, who chairs council’s public safety committee, last week told TribLive he believed Devine would be a steady leader for the bureau until a new administration names a new permanent chief.

“We have a great acting chief right now,” Coghill said. “Marty Devine is one of the most well-liked, well-respected guys in the police force. He just demands respect and gives respect. There’s not going to be any instability.”