North Huntingdon OKs detective for AG drug task force

A North Huntingdon police detective will become a member of the Pennsylvania attorney general’s drug task force, serving as the only agent based in Westmoreland County.

The agreement, which township officials approved this week, will require North Huntingdon to continue to pay the detective’s salary. The state would cover any overtime pay.

The detective will not start with the drug task force for a few months because of staffing issues within the police department, said Mike Turley, the township’s interim manager. There is no end date for the agreement, but the township has the right to terminate the contract at any time, Turley said.

Because it involves a personnel matter, Chief Robert Rizzo did not publicly identify the detective who will fill the role. Even though the detective will be working with the attorney general’s task force, Rizzo previously said he would be stationed in the North Huntingdon Police Department.

The Attorney General’s Office said it embeds local officers in the task force to provide local departments with additional resources to help stop drug trafficking in their communities.

“Adding a detective from the North Huntingdon Police Department to our North Huntingdon Regional Office through our LOFT program will strengthen our collaborative effort to build safer communities and fight the opioid crisis,” said Jacklin Rhoads, a spokeswoman for the attorney general.

While the agreement was unanimously approved, township Commissioner Richard Gray complained that the commissioners approved the contract in a closed-door executive session in December. It wasn’t discussed in a public meeting, nor was it placed for a vote until Wednesday.

“To me, that was a failure of leadership,” Gray said.

Rizzo said he signed the agreement, then sent it to the attorney general after the executive session with the commissioners, in which the solicitor was involved to ensure it was legal.

The board acted on the advice of the solicitor, Commissioner Ronald Zona said, adding that he did not believe the Sunshine Act was violated.

Bruce Dice, township solicitor, could not be reached for comment.

The decision by the township commissioners to approve an agreement in a closed-door session “is problematic from a Sunshine Act perspective,” said Melissa Bevan Melewsky, media law counsel for the Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association, a Harrisburg-based trade organization.

“Before making any decision, (commissioners) are supposed to hear from the public,” Melewsky said. “That can’t happen if they make a decision behind closed doors.”

Gray again raised his objection that “we are paying personnel to work for the state” and have no control over the officer.

Local police officers work part-time with the AG’s drug task force, and several North Huntingdon officers have been involved with it, said Zona, a retired state police trooper and chief of the Westmoreland County detectives.

“The task force works every day with local officers. It can’t work any other way,” Rizzo said.

The selection of a North Huntingdon detective to the LOFT position is an indication that the department’s officers are working hard to combat drugs not only in North Huntingdon, but in all of Westmoreland County and are being recognized for their efforts, Rizzo said after the meeting.

“The attorney general’s LOFT position will allow us to take a more active full-time role in narcotics enforcement,” Rizzo said.

The drug task force makes an impact in North Huntingdon, and there are no municipal boundaries when it comes to dealing illegal drugs, Rizzo said.

“Information is gathered from all over the place,” with patrol officers taking what they have learned and detectives working the case, the chief said.

The police department staffing issue was addressed when the commissioners approved hiring Erik Berg and Troy Pecina on a conditional basis to the positions of probationary police officers. They will undergo physical and psychological examinations as part of the hiring process.

The officers will undergo a 14-week field training program and a one-year probationary period, Rizzo said.