Pittsburgh councilman demands answers on police Chief Scirotto's part-time refereeing gig

A Pittsburgh councilman called Tuesday for public answers about the police chief’s decision to referee NCAA college basketball games while running the 751-member force.

Chief Larry Scirotto last week announced he would resume refereeing part time, something he had given up when he was named chief last year.

“We need to hear from Chief Scirotto,” Councilman Anthony Coghill, D-Beechview, said during a council meeting. “We have a lot of concerns, valid concerns.”

City officials have refused to release detailed information about how the chief plans to juggle his full-time duties with the police bureau and an officiating job that will require him to travel around the country for games.

A media availability with Scirotto scheduled for Tuesday afternoon was abruptly canceled.

Olga George, a spokeswoman for Mayor Ed Gainey, said the administration felt there was no need for a press conference Tuesday because the news broke last week about Scirotto resuming officiating collegiate basketball games.

When Scirotto was named Pittsburgh’s police chief in May 2023, he agreed to step away from refereeing to focus solely on policing.

The terms of any agreement Scirotto had with Gainey remain unclear, and both city officials have refused to answer questions about the deal.

It is unclear what prompted the mayor and chief to revisit the agreement.

Gainey on Monday said a 30% decrease in homicides citywide over the last two years factored into the decision. He deferred further questions to the now-canceled media availability.

Coghill called for a public meeting with council members and Scirotto to discuss the new arrangement.

“I don’t begrudge him,” Coghill said of Scirotto. “That’s a really big deal, refereeing in the Big Ten. He should be proud of that.”

Still, Coghill said, city leaders and residents need to know how he’ll balance both jobs.

“Does that mean the chief is not going to be here four months out of the year?” Coghill asked. “Does that mean he’s going to be working remotely?”

Coghill said he believes the chief has done a good job in his role and said he doesn’t want to see Scirotto leave.

Still, Coghill said, Scirotto needs to convince council members and the public that the police bureau won’t suffer from his absences.

Scirotto last week said he was addressing those concerns by promoting Assistant Chief Christopher Ragland to deputy chief who would be in charge while he was out of town.

Councilwoman Erika Strassburger, D-Squirrel Hill, also raised questions last week about the arrangement.

When council approved Scirotto as chief last year, she said, council was unaware that he might once again take up his side gig as a college basketball referee.

“It would’ve played into my decision to approve him,” she said. “It would’ve been helpful to have that information about it.”

Strassburger could not say whether she still would’ve voted to approve Scirotto had she known he’d return to officiating.

She also voiced concerns about how Pittsburghers will react to the idea of a police chief whose second job requires him to travel frequently.

“I want people to feel safe,” she said. “I want people to feel like there’s continuity among leadership in the bureau. I want people to be excited to apply for positions that are badly needed in the bureau.”

Questions about how often Scirotto will be refereeing games, whether he will work remotely while traveling and the timing and content of his conversations with Gainey remain unanswered.

In a statement last week, the mayor indicated that Scirotto had told him he would quit his job as police chief if he could not also referee.

“I said there must be a better way,” Gainey said in his statement last week.

Scirotto earns $185,400 a year as police chief. It is unclear how much he will be paid by the NCAA.

News of Scirotto’s return to refereeing came after he officiated an exhibition game in Michigan last Sunday.

He had refereed NCAA Division I basketball games prior to becoming Pittsburgh’s police chief, including March Madness games in 2023.