Sewickley has a new police chief

David Mazza looked into his wife Lisa’s eyes, placed his hand on a Bible provided by his grandfather, Ross Johnson, and pledged to uphold the law and protect the people of Sewickley.

The Reserve Township man was sworn in as the borough’s new police chief Tuesday night.

Mazza, 50, has been with the department since 1996 serving as a dispatcher, patrolman, sergeant and assistant chief.

He called the ceremony before council, family and friends a “proud moment.”

“It’s awesome when your two sons (Dominic and Anthony) get to see you get sworn in like that,” Mazza said.

His appointment as top cop was an 8-0 vote with Councilman Ed Green absent.

“Chief Mazza is hard working and honorable,” Councilwoman Julie Barnes said. “I have great confidence in him.”

President Jeff Neff commended Mazza’s work ethic and how he rose through the ranks of the department.

“He’s a great guy,” Neff said. “He’s been with the borough since the mid-‘90s. He worked swiftly through the ranks. He’s my kind of guy, goes to a lot of classes, gets educated. I think he’s earned everything he’s got. I like the way he networks with people around the county.”

Mazza takes over for Richard Manko, who retired from the Sewickley force earlier this month after serving 40 years, including a little more than the last four as chief. Manko took over for former chief Jim Ersher, who died of a heart attack in November 2016.

The new chief said he learned a lot from his former leaders, including social techniques from Manko.

“Rich never got excited, which is a phenomenal trait for a police officer to have,” Mazza said. “That’s not something that comes easy. That comes through experience. Rich was knowledgeable and Rich had people skills. He knew how to talk to people.”

Council members thanked Manko for his dedication.

“He’s done a great job,” Neff said. “Rich gave us 40 years of service in Sewickley. He was a fixture in the community. Everybody knew him.”

Sewickley police has 30 officers including 10 full-time. Budget documents list Mazza’s salary at $125,000.

New chief’s background

Mazza graduated from North Catholic High School in 1990 and went on to study criminal justice online through LaRoche College, now called LaRoche University.

He graduated from the Allegheny County Police Academy in 1996.

Mazza worked as an officer for Stowe and Aleppo townships before coming to Sewickley.

He grew up in Pittsburgh’s North Side. Encounters with police during those years would eventually lead him on a career path.

“I was exposed to a very positive side of police work at a young age,” he said. “The city had a program with officers walking the beat.”

He said city police would talk with the youths and even play football with them on occasion.

Those types of interactions are what Mazza hopes to have in Sewickley.

He plans to launch an initiative May through October in which officers devote about 24 hours a week walking or riding bicycles in the borough, particularly the business district.

“One of the hardest things in police work on a day-to-day basis is for people to feel comfortable approaching a police officer,” Mazza said. “I believe that program will be the start to a much better working relationship with our businesses, our residents and with our visitors.”

Another goal Mazza has for the department is to have full-time officers go through specialized training. The force has one drug recognition expert and a crime prevention officer that is connected with other departments throughout Allegheny County for community policing efforts such as shopping for children during the holidays.

The police department, itself, is also going through some renovations. A new break room, lobby and office space is being created in the borough building.

The mayor’s office is moving to the parking authority building as part of the renovations, which are expected to be done sometime mid-spring.