Latrobe hires new police officer, commends 2 others
Latrobe council hire, honors
Latrobe shored up its police roster Monday by hiring a local native as the force’s newest officer.
Council also commended two city officers for recently administering an opioid overdose reversal drug to revive unresponsive patients.
Unity District Judge Michael Mahady administered the oath of office Monday to Latrobe’s newest police officer, Sean Grosso, immediately after council voted 6-0 to hire him. Gerald Baldonieri was absent.
A 22-year-old Unity native, Grosso is a recent police academy graduate. He was recommended for the officer post after completing a screening process with the city civil service commission.
“I think he’s going to be a great addition,” Latrobe police Chief John Sleasman said. “He knows Latrobe, he knows the younger generation in Latrobe, and he seems like a smart, intelligent young man.”
Grosso’s hiring brings the Latrobe department’s complement of officers to 13, Sleasman said.
Two members of the department were honored with council proclamations Monday, recognizing their quick actions to revive overdose victims.
On Dec. 23, Officer Raymond Swiderski administered two doses of Narcan, also known as naloxone, to an unresponsive male patient once the officer was “advised of an extended estimated time of arrival of additional emergency medical service,” according to the proclamation. The Narcan doses “led the male to become alert and oriented with regular breathing.”
Without Swiderski’s intervention, “a different outcome may have resulted,” the proclamation states.
On Jan. 3, a female overdose patient benefited from the “constant assessment and persistent dedication” of Latrobe Detective Ronald Keslar, who administered five doses of Narcan before she became responsive, a second proclamation notes.
City police officers are “really unsung heroes,” Latrobe Mayor Rosie Wolford said. “They go about their business, and people really don’t know what they do on a day-to-day basis.
“When we have somebody who goes above and beyond, like these guys did, I think we should recognize them and be grateful.”
Jeff Himler is a TribLive reporter covering Greater Latrobe, Ligonier Valley, Mt. Pleasant Area and Derry Area school districts and their communities. He also reports on transportation issues. A journalist for more than three decades, he enjoys delving into local history. He can be reached at jhimler@triblive.com.
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