Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey on Friday said he is waiting on candidates’ background checks before announcing his nominee for the city’s new police chief.
Those background checks, he said, should be in next week.
The mayor said he has not offered anyone the job yet, and won’t move ahead till he can review the background checks.
“I’m not going to rush to judgment,” Gainey said.
Acting Chief Thomas Stangrecki, a Pittsburgh police veteran of nearly 35 years, has been leading the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police since former Chief Schott Schubert retired last summer.
The city in November hired California-based Public Sector Search & Consulting Inc. for $80,000 to spearhead the search for a new chief.
Gainey had set April as his timeline for when he hoped to announce his nomination for the new chief. The mayor on Friday said he still believes he will likely announce a new chief by the end of the month, but emphasized that he will do his “due diligence” first.
Once Gainey nominates someone for the role, the appointment will go to City Council for final approval.
Sources have identified three finalists, though the mayor and his administration have declined to discuss them publicly.
Two of the three finalists — Jason Lando and Larry Scirotto — are former Pittsburgh police officers. The third, who many have described as the frontrunner, is former Boise police Chief Ryan Lee, who in Boise grappled with reports of low morale and allegedly broke a sergeant’s neck during a tactical demonstration.
Maria Montaño, a spokesperson for Gainey, declined to offer a more concrete timeline on when the mayor may announce his pick. She said the final vetting and backgrounding process is still in the works.
“As long as it takes to complete that process is as long as it takes to complete that process,” she said.
Related:
• Sources say Pittsburgh close to announcing new police chief from list of 3 finalists
• Pittsburgh public safety officials hope to have new police chief in April
• Pittsburgh Police Chief Scott Schubert to retire after nearly 30 years with bureau
