Penn Township Police chief retires, reflects on 30-year career in department

John Otto’s interest in policing began as an elementary student.

“One day walking to school, there was a police car parked outside of Harrison Park Elementary School and that caught my attention,” the Penn-Trafford graduate said. “I remember looking inside the car from the sidewalk … and I was mesmerized with the radios and with the lights.

“That’s the earliest I can remember being drawn to police work.”

After 30 years in the Penn Township Police Department, Chief John Otto retired Friday, bidding farewell to the career that was his aspiration since childhood.

Otto, 54, was hired by the police department in July 1995 — returning to his hometown after earning a degree in criminal justice from Edinboro University, serving four years in the Marine Corps and graduating from the police academy.

He was promoted to chief in January 2011, later attending the FBI National Academy in Quantico, Va., in 2012 and earning a master’s degree in organizational leadership from Geneva College in 2015.

Captain tapped as acting chief

Township Commissioners will vote Oct. 15 on naming Capt. Michael Shirey acting police chief, said township Secretary/Manager Mary Perez. The township plans to hire a permanent chief internally, she said, as Shirey is up for retirement in March.

“(Otto) has been here for a long time,” Perez said. “He’s had a significant impact on the community. I’ve witnessed him in action — some of our weather emergencies and those kind of things.

“I think what struck me the most was his ability to take charge of a situation. If there was a major situation happening, he was the person you wanted to be handling that.”

Otto’s career has come full circle. The students who walked Penn-Trafford’s halls while he served as the district’s first school resource officer — some of whom he coached in basketball and baseball — are now raising children in the community he has policed for three decades.

The department itself has seen a transformation, Otto said, hiring more officers to meet the demands of a growing Penn Township population. Crime and drug detectives were also hired to address the drug trade in the region — one of the department’s focuses during Otto’s time as chief.

“If there’s anything that I’m most proud of, it’s the guys who come to work every day and do this job,” Otto said. “Nights, overnights, second shifts, weekends, holidays — while everybody else is off and enjoying their time off, these guys are at work. And they’re not just at work. They’re actively policing. And that is significant, because it’s a sacrifice.”

Penn-Trafford ‘in good hands’

Penn-Trafford Superintendent Matthew Harris said Otto has always been a strong supporter of the district. Police officers help with emergency evacuation drills, patrol the district’s eight school buildings and assist daily with bus traffic.

“I knew we would definitely be in good hands as far as any security we needed,” Harris said.

Otto plans to maintain his involvement in the community, running unopposed for a spot on the school board in November and continuing to officiate WPIAL basketball.

“I’m looking to shed responsibility, not take on more,” he said, “but … it was something that immediately caught my attention, that I could be part of the leadership team of that district and keep it heading in the correct direction.”

And in between driving out to Case Western University and Grove City College to watch his sons’ football games and volleyball matches, he would like to find a job outside of policing.

“I would like to find something where you do things the right way, you have strong leadership and it has great purpose,” he said. “I’m not ready to sit on the back porch and do crossword puzzles yet.

“I’m ready to go out and continue to make a difference somewhere.”