Pittsburgh City Council plans to take its time before voting on whether to confirm acting police chief Chris Ragland as the permanent head of the city’s Bureau of Police.
Ragland has been in charge of the bureau since October. He was originally tapped to temporarily replace Chief Larry Scirotto, after Scirotto retired last year following controversy over his side-gig refereeing out-of-town college basketball games.
Mayor Ed Gainey nominated Ragland last week to serve in the chief’s role permanently. But council members and local political groups want to gather more information, and to solicit input from the public, before holding a final vote on his appointment.
Council voted Tuesday to hold a public hearing on the nomination. It has yet to be scheduled.
“I want to hear personally from the public as to what they expect out of our next chief,” said Councilor Anthony Coghill, who called for the hearing and who chairs council’s committee on public safety. “I think my constituents want to have a voice in this.”
Coghill expressed misgivings last week about the timing of Gainey’s choice. Gainey is up for reelection this year, and faces a spirited re-election challenge in the May 20 Democratic primary from County Controller Corey O’Connor. Coghill said he would rather Gainey not have acted until there was good reason to think he’d be serving another term as mayor.
He reiterated that concern Tuesday, and said that while Ragland had been holding the chief’s post in an interim capacity, “I don't think three months is a gauge enough to see if an acting chief can fit as a permanent chief. I want to make sure the rank-and-file has their support. We cannot afford to lose more police officers.”
Ragland has spent more than 30 years in the bureau of police, and has supervised a number of police branches, including work as a commander in three of the city’s six police zones.
The city’s Republican Committee urged in a statement that the decision be postponed not merely until May but until after the election in November, when it expects to field a nominee of its own. “Delaying the appointment until after the election will prevent the process from being entangled in current political dysfunction and ensure that leadership decisions are made with the community’s best interests at heart,” said committee chair Todd McCollum in a statement.
The local NAACP, meanwhile, previously called for a public forum for residents to interact with the prospective new chief.
“The appointment of a new Chief of Police is a significant decision that directly impacts the safety, trust, and well-being of Pittsburgh residents,” a statement from NAACP leadership said. “Without this engagement, many Pittsburgh residents may feel excluded from the process, potentially undermining efforts to build trust between law enforcement and the public.”
Coghill said he would like to speak with the NAACP about how to facilitate such an event, and whether it could be combined with the public hearing or held separately.
