Pittsburgh's acting police chief addresses racial profiling, police brutality in City Council interview

Larry Scirotto, Pittsburgh’s acting police chief, said Thursday during a four-hour interview with City Council that his officers should follow a ban on minor traffic stops.

City Council voted in late 2021 to ban police from pulling over drivers for minor infractions such as having a burned-out brake light or an improperly placed license plate. Council also ordered officers not to initiate traffic stops when registrations or inspection and emissions stickers were expired by less than two months.

The measure attempted to address racial profiling. Data showed a disproportionate number of traffic stops involved people of color. Yet, former Acting Police Chief Thomas Stangrecki stopped training officers to enforce the ordinance in January, citing questions about a new state law related to traffic stops.

Scirotto, speaking Thursday in advance of a City Council vote on his nomination to become chief, stressed that his officers need to follow legislation from City Council and mandates from Gainey.

“I am responsible to this legislative body and the mayor’s office,” Scirotto said. “Whatever legislation this body puts forward … is the obligation of the chief of police and the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police.”

“This (ordinance) is going to be something to follow,” he added. “I don’t want my officers fishing in traffic stops.”

Scirotto said he was unaware of any data showing that not enforcing minor traffic stops either benefited or harmed public safety. He said City Council’s legislation was “borne out of a lack of transparency from the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police,” and he pledged to build stronger relationships with communities of color.

Scirotto, 49, of South Side, was nominated to be chief by Gainey on May 3. The nomination, which includes a starting salary of $180,000 a year, must be approved by City Council.

If confirmed, Scirotto would become the 55th police chief in the Pittsburgh force’s 165-year history. He would succeed Chief Scott Schubert, who retired in 2022. Stangrecki, a 35-year department veteran, served as acting chief after Schubert’s departure.

Scirotto’s lengthy interview before City Council touched on everything from recruitment and staff retention to police brutality, police working alongside social services and the force’s current status as what he called “a concierge service.”

Scirotto said the department’s 806 officers are being weighed down by duties that could be handled by other agencies. He called the department “a concierge service” that responds to every call it receives.

For example, in 2022, parking complaints were the top reason Pittsburghers called police. The 10,000 parking-related calls ate up 450,000 man-hours, Scirotto said. He said the second-most common calls, burglary alarms, ate up 30,000 man-hours — though 98.7% of the calls ended up being false alarms.

Councilman Anthony Coghill, a vocal police supporter on the governing body, said those types of calls should be handled by the Pittsburgh Parking Authority or other agencies. Scirotto agreed.

Also Thursday, Scirotto stressed that the department under his leadership would have a zero-tolerance policy for incidents of police using excessive force.

“The consequences (for using excessive force) should be swift and certain. We have no place in our force for that behavior,” Scirotto said. “I don’t have time for bullies … I don’t want them to be part of our organization or our profession.”

Scirotto also told City Council that police officers, not the city’s human resources staff, should be active in recruiting new officers.

“It’s our responsibility to reach those interested in our profession and show why working with the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police is a career they should choose,” he said.

Scirotto said such efforts would improve the department’s sometimes-strained relationship with communities of color and those underserved by police.

In response to a question from Councilman Bruce Kraus about the difference between policing and serving, Scirotto took aim at initiatives such as the War on Drugs.

“Why should a police department ever be at war with its communities?” Scirotto asked.

“We need to create an environment that challenges the warrior mindset. It’s a philosophical moment, believing we are guardians, not warriors,” he said. “If you’re trying to build trust only in times of crisis, you have failed. We’re building trust and building relationships … outside of these crises.”

City Council is expected to schedule a public hearing where residents can address Scirotto and ask questions about his nomination. A date for the hearing hasn’t been set.