Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey is leaning toward nominating acting Police Chief Christopher Ragland to permanently fill the role, though city council President R. Daniel Lavelle started the process late Wednesday of trying to tack on another 30 days to Chief Ragland’s interim term.
Mr. Lavelle circulated a memo to fellow council members asking them to sign off on extending Chief Ragland’s term as acting chief for another 30 days. At the same time, Post-Gazette news partner KDKA-TV reported that Mr. Gainey is leaning heavily toward Chief Ragland.
Mr. Gainey’s office did not respond to a request for comment late Wednesday. Officials said in a statement to KDKA that the mayor had been visiting with officers in all of the bureau’s zones and investigative units to discuss future leadership.
“He will not be making any announcements regarding his nomination of chief of police until this tour is concluded,” according to the statement.
Chief Ragland joined the bureau as a patrolman in Squirrel Hill in 1994. He was promoted to lieutenant in 2001 and assigned to the bureau’s Zone 1 station, which covers all of the city’s North Side. He was elevated to commander in 2015, first overseeing Zone 6 in the West End and, later, Zone 1.
He was named an assistant chief in February and was set to be elevated to deputy chief when former Chief Larry Scirotto resigned in late October.
As deputy chief, he would have been in charge of the bureau when Mr. Scirotto was away reffing college basketball games, a side gig the police chief had announced he would return to part-time. Before that plan could be put into practice, Mr. Scirotto resigned amid the controversy that followed his announcement.
Chief Ragland told the Post-Gazette last year that when he was tapped as commander for Zone 1, it was a “career rebirth” of sorts.
“I met a lot of tremendously good partners who sat me down and kind of [said], ‘Hey, what are your aspirational goals,’ ” he said. “I actually sat there and laughed because no one had ever asked me that before in the 24 years [of] my being a police officer.”
First Published: January 30, 2025, 2:39 a.m.
Updated: January 30, 2025, 5:31 p.m.