PITTSBURGH (KDKA) – Local community organizers pushing for sweeping police reform say Pittsburgh Police Chief Larry Sirott’s sudden retirement is a loss for the city.
“I was actually a little sad to hear that,” said Tanisha Long, a community organizer with the Abolition Law Center in Pittsburgh.
Unlike previous chiefs, Skrillot will listen regularly to community organizers, Long said. Mr. Long said that under the chief’s leadership, there have been positive changes in disciplinary practices and efforts have been made to improve accountability.
“The best way to describe it is disappointing,” Long said. “I thought they were really bullying this guy into getting the police chief job and getting him out of the job doing whatever he wanted.”
Chief’s favorite job was officiating college basketball games. Once he was about to do so after promising the Pittsburgh City Council not to do so, he ran into a problem.
“My reaction was a little bit of relief,” said Beth Pittinger, executive director of the Pittsburgh Citizens Police Review Board. “Everything this past week has been about unnecessary intrigue and drama.”
She called it all a distraction.
“The commissioner is not qualified to do that, the department is not qualified to do that, and neither are the residents of the city of Pittsburgh,” Pittinger said.
Pittinger said it made sense to leave, given both the distraction and the time Sirotto would be out of town.
“The police chief has to be a full-time, meticulous police chief,” Pittinger said. “You can’t just do it when you’re free.”
Long disagrees with the backlash Sirotto is facing for choosing to host again.
“In my mind, I really don’t care what you do in your free time,” Long said. “If it’s a day off, it’s a day off.”
Long said she is not looking forward to the process of finding a new police chief. She hopes the next chief will continue to adhere to certain policies and practices set by Skriloto.
“I think whoever is going to be the next police chief has a big job ahead of him,” Long said.
While in Pittsburgh, Pittinger said Skrilot did a good job, but there was a lot of work to do and a lot of work to finish now.
Less than 12 hours after announcing his retirement, Sirott was officiating an exhibition college basketball game in Iowa between the Iowa Hawkeyes and Minnesota Duluth. In announcing his retirement Friday, Mr. Sirotto acknowledged that he had been a nuisance to the department.
Looking ahead, city leaders are considering whether to search nationally for Sirotto’s replacement or stay in the city. Christopher Ragland will serve as interim chief. City leaders are confident he can be a permanent replacement.
Sirotto was hired as city manager in May 2023.
