Another opening by Pittsburgh Police leadership leaves local residents concerned
The Pittsburgh Bureau of Police is without a leader once again, for the fifth time in three years, after the mayor's pick for the top cop retired and stepped down as acting chief Tuesday.
Now it's back to the drawing board and folks across the city have their own thoughts about what they're looking for.
Mary Tolomeo of Shadyside is concerned for Pittsburgh and the safety of folks throughout the city.
"I'm frustrated because I don't see anything getting any better," Tolomeo said. "It seems everything is getting out of hand."
She knows many people directly impacted by crime.
"I know of people having fights and shootings near their homes, and they don't feel safe in their own homes," Tolomeo said.
With Mayor Ed Gainey back to square one in the search for a police chief, she's ready for change and more stability up top, after Acting Chief Christopher Ragland withdrew his candidacy for the job on Tuesday, and Former Chief Larry Scirotto suddenly retired to become a full-time basketball referee last fall.
Reliability is also what Joyce Boyle is looking for.
"We need more consistent leadership in our police," Boyle said.
She lives on Mount Washington, where, like other neighborhoods, folks are facing an ongoing car theft and break-in problem. On top of that, Boyle is tired of what she said is long response times.
"We've had shots up there, like, you know, ShotSpotters go off and they take 45 minutes to get up there sometimes," Boyle said.
For Ken Grabowski, who frequently visits the city from Shaler, it's about protecting folks downtown. He still doesn't feel comfortable out in some areas during certain times of the day.
"Make it the ability for people to come down to Pittsburgh again and be safe to walk around the streets," Grabowski said.
As he resigned, Ragland suggested his nomination became a victim of politics. People said that's the main problem, and they're losing trust in the process overall.
"They need to have experience and worry about cleaning up the streets and crime, as opposed to who their allegiance is to," Grabowski said.
"Everything is becoming political," Tolomeo said. "I'm losing confidence in whoever comes in is really going to do what they're expected to do."