Pittsburgh has a new chief of police after City Council unanimously voted to confirm acting chief Larry Scirotto for the job Tuesday. The vote comes days shy of a year since the city’s former chief announced his retirement.
“It’s time to go to work,” Scirotto said Tuesday. “There's a lot to do, and I stay committed to the strategies of the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police. That's being a community partner, that's engaging early and often, improving the quality of life, and most importantly reducing our violent gun crimes.”
Scirotto received high praise from council members after the vote Tuesday. At an hours-long public interview days earlier, Scirotto answered questions about his policing strategy, his previous work experience and how he plans to best deploy a shrinking staff of officers.
“This is a very important moment at a very important time,” Councilor Bruce Kraus said, calling Scirotto the “perfect candidate” for the job.
Councilor Anthony Coghill, who chairs the committee on public safety and wellness, said Scirotto has deep knowledge about the bureau's position in today's climate.
“I think he recognizes the challenges. He won me over,” Coghill said, adding that officers he’s spoken with have “nothing but good things to say about him.”
Other members said Scirotto was well-informed and understands the nuances of an approach to public safety that prioritizes community relations.
Scirotto’s nomination came after a lengthy search process by Mayor Ed Gainey’s administration that included input from rank-and-file officers, police reform advocates and city leaders. He brings decades of experience in several Pittsburgh Police units from his time as a city cop dating back to the '90s. He left the bureau in 2018 and served as chief of police in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida for a short time.
Questions arose last month about several finalists during the search process, including Scirotto.
He was fired from his job as chief in Ft. Lauderdale after city leaders accused him of passing over white candidates for promotions. Scirotto has repeatedly defended his promotions strategy in Florida as fair, and pledged that all officers would be on an equal playing field for advancement in Pittsburgh.
It never appeared likely that any council member would vote against Scirotto, and a his public interview in council earned him high praise from the members present. Council leadership had previously promised a public hearing for residents to weigh in on Scirotto’s candidacy. But after his interview last week, members scrapped the idea.
Kraus said he was pleasantly surprised by just how thoroughly prepared he was to come and petition his cause before council."
“I think that he's going to have his challenges cut out for him,” Kail Smith said. But she added, “I think if anybody can do it, he can definitely do it.”
Scirotto takes over during a precarious time for the city’s police bureau. While the city and police union recently reached a historic agreement that avoided arbitration hearings for the first time in decades, union leadership continues to warn about a worsening staffing shortage.
Scirotto readily answered questions about staffing, recruitment and diversity during his interview with council last week. He said the city hasn’t done well enough to recruit officers from all over the city and should focus their efforts on underrepresented communities.
In addition to recruiting more officers, he suggested the department change its priorities to improve its response to more serious matters. He argued too much time is wasted on low-level incidents.
“Right now, we are a very concierge-oriented police department, and that means anytime you pick up the phone and dial 911, we will send a police car,” Scirotto said. “And they are oftentimes not calls … that require police with that level of training.”
He suggested handing over parking violation enforcement to the city’s parking authority, and creating an online form for residents to submit police reports about low-level incidents.
Relatedly, members asked about whether the bureau would follow a city ordinance that bars officers from pulling motorists over solely for minor traffic infractions like a broken taillight or an improperly displayed license plate. The bureau resumed enforcement of these infractions earlier this year while the bureau reviewed whether the ordinance aligned with the state vehicle code.
Scirotto said under his leadership, the city’s police department would adhere to the city ordinance. He dismissed the notion held by some in public safety that minor traffic stops help officers pursue enforcement of more serious crimes.
“It’s going to be something that we’re going to follow by mandate of this body,” Scirotto said last week. “I don’t want my officers fishing in traffic stops… I want them to be data-driven and intelligence-driven.”
On Tuesday, Scirotto stressed the need to zero in on anti-gun violence efforts in Pittsburgh as one of his top priorities. And he said under his leadership, the bureau would focus on data-driven policing strategies to tackle that. He told reporters outside of council chambers that the bureau has also started sharing officers among different city zones to cover for staffing shortages.
“We are the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police. We're not Zone 1 or Zone 5. So we have the ability to move our assets, move personnel,” he said. “Our calls for violence are priority calls and should remain the focus of the department.”
