Pittsburgh Police Chief Calls FOP Survey Of Confidence "Background Noise"
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- Pittsburgh Police Chief Cameron McLay held the first in a series of town hall meetings Wednesday night.
At least one town hall meeting will be scheduled in each of the city's six zones. The first was at the IBEW Hall on the South Side.
The goal is build trust between police and community members.
At the session, McLay told KDKA the new FOP survey on his leadership ability is "background noise."
The online survey on the FOP website asks for a vote of confidence or no confidence in McLay's ability to lead the department. Results will be tallied on Sept. 12.
"Every police chief who comes in to try to implement change and reform faces resistance," McLay told KDKA. "It's inevitable as the changing of the seasons so to speak."
Internal strife and mounting tensions between the administration and rank and file resulted in the latest vote, something McLay said he has no power over.
"This is a great police department. This is a great community and my job is to cause them to work together more effectively," he said. "So my focus is on making sure we're performing our jobs well."
Join The Conversation On The KDKA Facebook Page
Stay Up To Date, Follow KDKA On Twitter
Ken Wolfe, president of the Zone 3 Safety Council, told KDKA's Kym Gable, "They have a lot of internal issues. The vote... it's not binding, but it does show the rank and file is, I don't want to say being ignored, but they are not happy with things the way they are going."
The chief went on to say, "It's really something I expect. Quite frankly, I expected it earlier, so this is just a day in the life of a police chief."
