Trump, no; Steelers, yes: Westmoreland park police will work at Steelers training camp

Westmoreland County commissioners may have taken a pass at providing security for former President Donald Trump, but they decided to help beef up patrols for the Pittsburgh Steelers.

County park police will be on hand at the team’s summer training camp, which began Tuesday at Saint Vincent College in Unity.

The move comes at the request of the Steelers, according to county commissioners.

“We’ll be working to patrol the area and for extra security,” said Commissioner Gina Cerilli Thrasher.

Park Police Chief Henry Fontana declined to discuss specifics regarding how many officers will be assigned to work during the camp, which attracts thousands of fans to the afternoon practice sessions at the school’s Chuck Noll Field. Fontana said the Steelers agreed to reimburse the county on an hourly basis to cover the cost of having officers at the college through Aug. 19.

The officers assigned to training camp will earn overtime and their regular patrols won’t be affected, Fontana said. This is the first time the park police will work at training camp, he added.

Monday’s decision by the commissioners comes two months after they rejected an effort by Sheriff James Albert to assign his deputies to work at a political rally when former President Donald Trump came to the county fairgrounds to stump for Republican Senate candidate Mehmet Oz. The county’s solicitor and human resources director challenged the plan and said there were liability issues for sheriff’s deputies to work on private property.

At the 11th hour, Albert ignored the commissioners’ orders and assigned eight deputies to work at the event and later accused “unelected bureaucrats” of yielding too much power in county government.

Albert declined to comment about the commissioners’ move to allow park police to work at training camp.

The county solicitor on Tuesday defended the about-face regarding private property security details.

“In this situation, the county followed its customary procedure to have an agreement in place. The county was approached well in advance and had the opportunity to work out any potential liability issues prior to approval at a public meeting,” Melissa Guiddy said.

Representatives from Saint Vincent declined comment. A spokesman for the Steelers said the team hires police for security at every training camp.

While the park police officers have full police powers on county property, they will not have the authority to make arrests at training camp. Commissioners said officers will have to summon the state police — which has jurisdiction in the township — to make formal arrests.

“We are going to be there and be visible,” said Commissioner Sean Kertes.

The park police typically patrol the 10 county parks and provide security at the county courthouse. The officers also work at Arnold Palmer Regional Airport, Westmoreland County Community College and at the county transit authority station in Greensburg.

The department has about 27 full-time and 11 part-time officers.