Pittsburgh Police Chief Larry Scirotto announces his retirement
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — Pittsburgh Police Chief Larry Scirotto informed city leaders on Friday that he plans to retire amid criticism over his decision to start refereeing college basketball games again.
The chief informed the city his retirement takes effect on Nov. 1. Scirotto was hired to be the city's chief in May 2023. Assistant Chief Chris Ragland will take over as acting chief.
Scirotto's announcement comes after the chief came under scrutiny for his decision to continue officiating college basketball games. He said he was prepared to step down if the city wouldn't let him return to refereeing and offered to take a pay cut, but the move drew criticism from the police union and some city leaders.
Scirotto would have been able to referee an estimated 60 games a year, raising concerns that his attention would be divided and he could have been out of town in times of major crisis. The city intended to elevate Ragland to the rank of deputy chief to be in command.
When Scirotto accepted the job of chief in 2023, it was reported he would not officiate games anymore. According to Mayor Ed Gainey, the two had a mutual understanding.
"If the homicides came down and he wanted to run this program where he was taking kids to different activities as part of him reffing, we could talk about it and we did," Mayor Gainey said on Friday.
Chief Scirotto made the retirement announcement in a letter obtained by KDKA-TV on Friday.
"I informed Mayor Gainey and Director Schmidt of my intention to retire as Chief of Police, with my last day being November 1st," the letter read. "After 25 years of dedicated service to the Bureau, this decision is rooted in pride, duty, and a deep commitment to our organization and the community we serve. This choice is made by me alone, in the best interest of my officers and the department."
Less than 12 hours after announcing his retirement, Scirotto was in Iowa to referee an exhibition college basketball game between the Hawkeyes and Minnesota Duluth at Iowa.
Larry Scirotto's retirement catches Pittsburgh leaders by surprise
Pittsburgh City Council President Daniel Lavelle did not know about the decision until Friday morning. By mid-morning, the news broke.
"Walking into this event here is when I discovered it," Lavelle said.
City leaders said they thought they could make it work with Scirotto, who started officiating college basketball again in recent weeks.
"He's done it. We thought we could make it work," Public Safety Director Lee Schmidt said.
Some members of Pittsburgh City Council felt officiating basketball games on the side was not going to happen.
"This news is really unfortunate. Just the way it played out, it could have been a much different scenario," Councilman Bobby Wilson said on Friday.
There is confidence interim chief Ragland can head the bureau if he is chosen as the next permanent chief of police. There is no timetable for when the city plans to hire someone new.
"I know Chief Ragland rather well. I certainly think he can step into the job. And then we need to determine whether or not that is a permanent position or if we need to do the search," Lavelle said.
