New acting Pittsburgh police chief gearing up for election day, presidential candidate visits

PITTSBURGH — The leader of Pittsburgh’s police department is stepping down just days before the election and dueling presidential rallies.

Chief Larry Scirotto is retiring to return to officiating college basketball.

Assistant Chief Chris Ragland has been appointed acting chief.

Chief Investigator Rick Earle spoke with Ragland the other day.

Ragland told Earle he’s focused now on preparing for election day and now visits Monday by both presidential candidates.

Earlier this week, Ragland laid out his plans for the Bureau and his expectations for officers.

“I’m kind of a squared away, straight shooter, tell it like it is individual,” said Ragland.

Ragland has been with the Bureau for 30 years, rising through the ranks and most recently serving as an assistant chief.

He said he will continue to follow the plan implemented by retiring Chief Scirotto.

“Violent crime bringing that down, recruitment, retention, officer wellness.  Those are all the things I believe and those are all the things that they bought into.  So that mission stays the same,” said Ragland.

Ragland also wants to improve community policing relationships, like he said he did by opening a safety center in Northview Heights, and most recently increasing patrols downtown to deal with an uptick in crime.

He believes neighbors and business owners should know the officers by name.

“It’s a mom-and-pop shop, and I say who’s the officer assigned? I expect them to be able to tell me who that is and if it isn’t that’s a problem for that officer and that’s a relationship they need to build,” said Ragland.

But one of the biggest issues facing Ragland is severe staffing shortages.

The bureau is down nearly 150 officers to 706.

And some council members have heard the complaints.

“One of the things we all here constantly is how we want to see more officers walking the beat and more officers around, and until we can get to the point where we are staffed appropriately we are going to have to find ways to make that work,” said Bob Charland, a Pittsburgh city councilman who represents the South Side.

The new academy classes haven’t kept up with resignations and retirements.

Since January of 2023, 173 officers have left and only 38 have been hired during that same time frame.

Councilwoman Theresa Kail-Smith addressed that at a public hearing on the Chief’s departure earlier this week.

“I’m hearing a lot about how great Chief Scirotto was, and I liked him very much as a person, but I’m not going to pretend that this bureau has not been divided,” said Kail-Smith, who represents the West End.

Scirotto implemented a number of controversial operational and procedural changes that some officers said have led to low morale and disgruntled officers.

Ragland acknowledged that the bureau needs to do better.

“We got to do a better job at recognizing their good work in the moment, and that will be a commitment,” said Ragland.

Sources told 11 Investigates that Ragland is in line to become the chief.

11 Investigates also learned the mayor wants to promote from within the department.

It remains to be seen if Ragland has the votes on city council for confirmation.

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