PITTSBURGH — When Larry Scirotto took the job of Pittsburgh Police Chief in May of 2023 he said he was done officiating college basketball games.
But 11 Investigates discovered exclusively that he’s already returned to the court and he plans to continue doing more games this season.
Veteran officers 11 Investigate spoke with were highly critical of the decision, especially since the department continues to struggle with serious manpower issues.
They also said there’s too much turmoil in the department with all of the operational changes and that the chief needs to concentrate on the department and the city.
The bureau is down more than 100 officers.
The Police Officers’ Union went even further.
They said now is not the time for a part-time chief.
11 Investigates found the video of Chief Larry Scirotto back on the court last Sunday in Marquette, Michigan, officiating a game between Michigan State and Northern Michigan.
This comes after Scirotto told reporters in May 2023 that he was finished with college basketball and committed to devoting all of his time and effort to the city of Pittsburgh.
I asked him specifically about that decision last year when the Mayor introduced him as the city’s new police chief.
Earle: Are you going to miss college basketball?
Scirotto: You miss the things that you love, but this is more important.
Scirotto, an accomplished Division 1 men’s college basketball referee has worked NCAA tournament games.
He’s faced sharp criticism in the past for spending too much time officiating when he was an officer in Pittsburgh a decade ago and then when he was the Chief of Police in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
The decision to return to officiating has upset some veteran officers, who accused the chief of making wholesale changes that have led to serious morale issues in a department that continues to struggle with a severe shortage of manpower.
The Executive Director of the Pittsburgh Citizen Police Review Board questioned the move.
“They’re dealing and absorbing all these different changes. Their patrol practices, policing practices, who does what, when and where, and now their Chief isn’t going to be there all the time and I think it’s a morale problem, a serious one,” said Beth Pittinger, the Executive Director of the CPRB.
And the Fraternal Order of Police, the union that represents officers, blasted the decision.
“The FOP is disappointed in the City’s decision to allow for a part-time Chief of Police. The FOP participated in the Chief selection process and both Chief (Ryan) Lee and Chief (Jason) Lando had excellent qualifications, wanted the position, and interviewed exceptionally well. Yet both were passed over. Now when full-time leadership is needed, police staffing cut to the bone, the city has decided to allow its leadership to work off-duty details and referee games. Obviously, the Police Command Staff is poorly paid,” said Union President Bob Swartzwelder, also referring to a recent decision that allows members of the command staff to work secondary employment details.
Commanders and Chiefs in the past have been barred from working on secondary details.
Scirotto, who’s out of town at a Chief’s conference, tells me he has the Mayor’s blessing.
He emailed this statement to 11 Investigates this afternoon.
“I’m excited to share that in a few days, I will wake up to a dream come true — I’ll be putting on a striped jersey and getting back on a basketball court as a referee for college basketball. As a lifelong sports fan who lives and breathes teamwork, I’ve worked out a way of accommodating the schedule so that I may continue to fight for you as your Chief.
“I’ll be using my own time to ensure no cost to the city. To make certain there’s never a break in command and control, I’ve identified Assistant Chief Chris Ragland to assume a unique role of Deputy Chief, to execute on decisions or respond to emergencies for those few hours when I’m on the court.
“I love the City of Pittsburgh, I am proud of the progress the force is making, and I am committed to continuing to fight for your safety and the well-being of our officers.
“For me, it’s a dream come true and one that I now get to use to connect the city’s youth sports initiatives to sports programs in the city, and now college basketball. But it’s bigger than me, it’s an exciting first for our city and for Pittsburgh’s youth, envisioning a new path to a brighter future,” said Scirotto.
Mayor Ed Gainey shared the following statement:
“My priority has and will always be the safety and well-being of every resident in Pittsburgh. When Chief Larry Scirotto approached us about possibly needing to step down from his role in order to pursue this part-time refereeing gig, I said there must be a better way. He’s too good, and we are making too much progress, not to keep up the fight.
“I stand by the tremendous progress Chief Scirotto and the force are making on community policing, reducing violent crime, diversifying the rank and file, and keeping us safe.
“I’m excited for Chief Scirotto. I’m excited for the kids, who will be exposed to new and exciting opportunities that showcase the transformative power that sports can have. Thinking outside of the box has allowed us to strengthen and modernize our Bureau of Police, and we’re excited to see where this initiative takes us.”
“He has a right to do what he enjoys, nobody is going to take that away from him and he’s good at it and he loves it, but he’s also our chief. It’s a big city, especially with all the changes that he’s made,” said Pittinger.
Scirotto wouldn’t say how many games he will do.
But sources told 11 Investigates he’s cleared to referee as many as 50 games this season.
With travel days, he could be gone as many as 100 to 150 days per year.
Assistant Chief Chris Ragland has been promoted to Deputy Chief to cover when Scirotto is away.
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