Rob Haus officially becomes Arnold police chief, ending tumultuous 12 months

Arnold Mayor Shannon Santucci has appointed Rob Haus as the city’s new police chief.

Santucci announced the appointment at Tuesday’s council meeting, ending a year of uncertainty as to who would lead the department on a permanent basis.

Haus has been leading the department on an interim basis as former Chief Josh Stanga’s future hinged on the disposition of criminal charges he faces in Westmoreland County Court.

“The city was waiting, the department was waiting, and that (criminal case) could go on for a couple of years,” Santucci said. “I just felt it wasn’t fair to the city, to the department, the citizens, not to have a chief of police.”

She said after waiting a year for Stanga’s situation to be resolved, it was time to make a move.

Santucci said she appointed Haus last Thursday. The resignation of Stanga, who faced termination if he did not step down, was accepted at Tuesday’s meeting by a 4-0 council vote, with Councilman Adam Zweig absent.

The department Haus is taking charge of is undermanned and serves a city that has its share of financial challenges and crime. He was asked why he wanted to launch himself into that situation.

“I live in the community,” Haus replied. “I’m devoted to it. My family lives here. I’ve lived here for 22 years, and I don’t want to see it fail.”

Haus, who recently turned 50, said he has been a full-time police officer in the city for nine years. Prior to that, he worked as a part-time officer in Harmar and East Deer after graduating from the Indiana University of Pennsylvania police officers training academy.

Before becoming a police officer, Haus said he worked for more than 25 years in the medical field, including 22 years as an EMT while simultaneously working as a patient care technician at two UPMC hospitals, and eight years as a medical corpsman in the Navy Reserve.

Haus also had previous experience in directing the city’s police department after being named interim chief when former Chief Eric Doutt retired at the beginning of 2024 when Santucci was sworn in as mayor.

He held that post until Stanga was hired in February of that year.

“He was the obvious choice,” Santucci said of Haus’ promotion. She said he is the most experienced officer in the department, which consists of five full-time and three part-time officers.

Santucci said, “He has always shown leadership. He is very patient, and I felt that he deserved it; he earned it.”

Haus also issued a written statement: “The past few years have brought their share of challenges, but we’ve faced them together and come out stronger because of it.

“Now, as we are moving forward with our department, my hope is for smoother sailing and steady progress. We are currently in a contract year and actively working to bring more officers on board.”

He said his priorities are clear. They include getting the department back to full strength and moving forward with tools and training officers need to do their job “safely and effectively,” including the acquisition of body cameras and laptop computers for patrol vehicles.

“I want to extend my sincere thanks to all the officers who have worked tirelessly and devoted their time and effort throughout this difficult time,” Haus said in his statement. “Your resilience, dedication and hard work have made this progress possible.”

Stanga was suspended in August 2024.

He is charged with five misdemeanor counts including theft, obstruction of justice, tampering with evidence and related offenses in connection with what state investigators called a sting operation to gauge the chief’s integrity.

That involved the placement of drugs and $300 in cash by state narcotics agents in a stolen vehicle that city police recovered at Union Cemetery.

They claimed Stanga took possession of the money and drugs but mentioned only the drugs and just a small portion of the money in his initial report. They also allege that the next day he typed up a secondary report in which the larger amount was mentioned.

At one point, the agents said Stanga admitted to using some of the money.

Santucci said she did not agree with the charges.

“I truly felt like it was a setup,” she said but added that, because some of the bait bills were spent, a change was needed.

Asked if the parting with Stanga was amicable, Santucci replied, “Yes, absolutely. We’ve been friends for a long time before this.”