Leechburg hires third full-time police officer amid coronavirus pandemic

Leechburg has a third full-time police officer.

Borough council during a special meeting Thursday hired Miranda Tasker as a full-time police officer at a salary of $21 an hour.

Tasker has worked part time for the borough’s police department since November. With her hire, the borough now has three full-time officers. Voting in favor of the hire were council members Tom Foster, Chuck Pascal, Ruth Bender, Alan Tarr, Nancy Bono and Lorrie Bazella. Councilwoman Megan Goedicke was absent.

“She’s got a very level head,” Mayor Wayne Dobos said of Tasker. “She seems to get along with everybody.”

Councilwoman Ruth Bender said she voted in favor of the hire based on what she heard about Tasker from other borough officials. Tasker was the only applicant for the position, which the borough advertised earlier this year.

“Alan Tarr and Mayor Dobos were in charge of her hiring process and said they were very impressed with her character, confidence, and work ethic,” Bender said. “With their experience, I trust their judgment about her ability to be successful and effective in law enforcement.”

Before Tasker’s hire, the police department had two full-time police officers: Chief Jason Schaeffer and Patrolman Mark Pollick. Dobos said one of the things officials were worried about was a potential shortage of full-timers due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

“If one of the officers — we only have two — goes down, we’ll be down to one officer,” Dobos said.

Schaeffer previously told the Tribune-Review that three full-timers and three part-timers could provide the borough with around-the-clock police coverage. He didn’t return a phone message seeking comment on Thursday.

The special meeting took place at 3:30 p.m. in the borough building parking lot. A notice was posted on the door of the borough building on Wednesday to let the public know about it.

The borough cancelled its April council meeting because council chambers aren’t set up to adhere to proper social distancing practices amid the pandemic, which is why council members had to meet in the parking lot. Leechburg also doesn’t have the ability to livestream meetings or broadcast them via Facebook.

The next council meeting is set for May 19.