Pittsburgh’s new mayor has promised better police-community relations, and the man he wants to be his public safety director sees communication as the way forward.
Lee Schmidt, Mayor Ed Gainey’s nominee to head the Department of Public Safety, said in an interview Friday that he believes coordination within the department and a proactive approach would improve the relationship between all the department’s bureaus and the community.
“Public safety looks different from one neighborhood to the next, from one section of the city to the next and even from, sometimes, block to block,” Mr. Schmidt, 46, of the North Side, said.
His focus as director would be on building synergy between the various bureaus – police, fire and EMS, among others – as well as developing relationships with political leaders and community groups.
“My job is to take my time, work with the administration, work with council and listen to those groups,” he said. “See what public safety means to them.”
But other than improvements to communication, Mr. Schmidt said not much would change in the way the department handles law enforcement, saying his views of policing were not affected by recent racial justice protests and calls for police accountability.
Still not confirmed by City Council, Mr. Schmidt has been with the city’s Public Safety Department for five years. He began in an administrative role, working for the Police Bureau in 2017 and was promoted to assistant director of operations and administration in March 2020.
Before joining the city, Mr. Schmidt was a volunteer emergency medical technician in West Deer beginning in 1996. He later took a full-time position with that department before moving up the ranks to become its chief and director.
“I think my experience there helped me become very well-rounded,” he said, emphasizing the need to keep in touch with township managers, supervisors and residents. He said that even though West Deer is a much smaller community than Pittsburgh, the skills he developed there will transfer.
Over time, though, Mr. Schmidt said he felt that he had “plateaued” in West Deer. He went back to school, earning a bachelor’s degree in public administration at Point Park University in 2016. That led him to the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police, where he worked as a civilian business administrator.
He praised his predecessor, Wendell Hissrich, and his work to build up the department. Mr. Hissrich, appointed by former Mayor Bill Peduto, had 20 years of experience with the FBI.
Mr. Schmidt said he had no concern about whether his own lack of experience in law enforcement would impact his job, and he said that shouldn’t affect his relationship with officers in the bureau.
“I think a lot of officers know me, because I was there for three years in their bureau,” he said. “I got to know a lot of them very well. They know the type of person I am.”
He said that as director, he wouldn’t need to know everything about the department immediately and would defer to the experts in each bureau. He said that as a leader, he needs to recognize when something is outside his areas of expertise and rely on others to help him make strong decisions.
Mr. Gainey has been clear about wanting to make Pittsburgh a leader in police-community relations. But how he plans to further reorganize his public safety department is still unclear. Mr. Schmidt’s nomination is expected to get City Council approval, but the mayor has not indicated whether he plans to replace Police Chief Scott Schubert.
Mr. Schmidt declined to comment on whether Chief Schubert, who ascended to chief in 2014 under Mr. Peduto, would remain in that role.
Mr. Schmidt also said his views on policing remain unchanged by the racial justice movement that accelerated in 2020 after George Floyd’s murder by police in Minneapolis. Although activists have called for reducing the size of police departments in Pittsburgh and elsewhere, Mr. Schmidt said he still believes police “serve a purpose.”
“I told the officers the other day, ‘I don’t believe anyone got into policing to cause anyone harm,’” he said. “I think everyone got into public safety to make a difference and make their community safer.
“There will be mistakes made, and we need to have accountability when those mistakes are made. And we need to take ownership and … make sure we have policy and process and training and support in place to ensure those [mistakes] don’t happen again in the future.”
He sees customer service and proactiveness as two of the biggest demands on police from the public. With almost 2,000 employees, many of whom work on the streets, public safety represents the “eyes and ears of the city.”
“When they come across someone who’s experiencing homelessness, who maybe has some mental health issues – it’s been a challenge for years that providers don’t know who to call or [know the resources] available for them,” he said.
Improving access to those things could allow public safety workers to get people the help they need, rather than simply relying on the criminal justice system. But Mr. Schmidt also emphasized the importance of taking care of people who work for the department.
“We need to provide [responders] with resources and make sure they’re taking care of themselves first,” Mr. Schmidt said. “When they show up for work, they’re ready for work.”
Mick Stinell: mstinelli@post-gazette.com; 412-263-1869; and on Twitter: @MickStinelli
First Published: February 13, 2022, 11:30 a.m.
Updated: February 13, 2022, 1:18 p.m.