The Pittsburgh branch of the NAACP is calling on city leaders to slow the confirmation process for Christopher Ragland as police chief to allow for at least one public forum.

In an email to Mayor Ed Gainey, City Council members and their staffers, the NAACP branch offered to coordinate with community partners to host a public meeting where residents could talk with Ragland, the city’s acting police chief, before council votes on whether to approve the nomination to make him chief permanently.

“This crucial step reinforces the foundation of community engagement by ensuring a transparent approach — that prioritizes a strong community relationship at its core,” the email reads.

Without such a step, the NAACP wrote, Pittsburghers may feel excluded, which would undermine efforts to strengthen relationships between police and the communities they serve.

Gainey last week announced he was nominating Ragland, 53, of Downtown, to serve as permanent police chief. Ragland has been acting chief since former Chief Larry Scirotto resigned in November amid controversy over his plans to referee college basketball games while leading the bureau.

When asked about whether he would support delaying Ragland’s appointment to permit public involvement, Gainey on Tuesday told TribLive, “I’ve been one of the most transparent mayors this city’s ever seen. I’m very engaged with community engagement. But there are also some times as the CEO of this city that I have to make decisions because it’s in the best interest of the city.”

Daylon Davis, who heads the local NAACP chapter, did not respond to requests for comment.

The Allegheny County Democratic Black Caucus on Tuesday joined the NAACP’s call and requested public forums in each of the city’s six police zones.

“We are very concerned about the attempt to once again circumvent community engagement in the hiring of our next police chief,” Will Anderson, the caucus chair, wrote in a letter to Gainey and City Council.

“With the shootings and violent assault of African Americans within the last month by Pittsburgh police officers, the community has zero confidence in the administration’s ability to make this decision without complete community engagement.”

Pittsburgh police earlier this month fatally shot Maurice Jones, a 33-year-old Black man, in the Hill District. Investigators said Jones pointed a gun at police and refused commands to drop it.

Anderson also questioned Gainey’s selection of Ragland for chief considering that the mayor did not choose to promote him previously.

Pittsburgh City Councilman Anthony Coghill, D-Beechview, said he would also like to pause on Ragland’s confirmation proceedings to allow for a broader public process.

“I support their call to vet him in public,” Coghill said. “I thought this mayor rushed way too quickly into putting him up for permanent chief. I have lots of questions myself.”

Council will interview Ragland under oath before voting on his confirmation. A date for the interview has not yet been set.

Gainey’s quick decision to promote from within the ranks comes in stark contrast to his process for choosing his last chief.

When Scott Schubert stepped down as chief in May 2022, Gainey launched a monthslong national search to consider candidates both within the bureau and throughout the country before landing on Scirotto. The process cost the city $80,000 and was criticized for being secretive.

Also Tuesday, the Pittsburgh Republican Committee urged city leaders to make no decisions on appointing a permanent police chief until after the November election.

“This is not a decision that should be rushed,” Todd McCollum, the committee chair, said in a statement.

“We must ensure that the process upholds transparency and respects the democratic will of the people.”

The Republican committee accused Gainey of undermining public trust through his secret agreement to allow Scirotto to return to officiating NCAA basketball games.

It also criticized Gainey’s selection of Ragland, noting that two suburban departments had passed him over for chief and alleging that he “lacks the full support of rank-and-file officers.”

In response, Olga George, Gainey’s spokesperson, defended Ragland’s experience. She told TribLive that Ragland had a “proven track record of reducing violence, winning community trust, and protecting the rights of the public.”

George also stood up for the mayor’s right to name a new police chief and called the suggestion to wait until after the election “an insult to the democratic process, the officers of the bureau and the public they serve.”

“The Home Rule Charter empowers the Mayor and council, not political parties and certainly not political parties who have not won any local elections in Pittsburgh in nearly a century, to select the chief of police,” George said in a statement. “Effective policing requires a clear and settled chain of command, not obstruction and delay for political theater.

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