As welcome as news of a possible police merger involving some Mon Valley communities is the attitude of some of those considering the idea.
Rankin police Chief Ryan Wooten sounded eager, noting that officers in the neighboring communities already work closely together and could deliver better service by formally pooling resources.
East Pittsburgh Mayor Louis Payne observed that a consolidated force could have a K9 unit, detectives and other advantages that the small boroughs couldn’t hope to have on their own.
Officials in Rankin, East Pittsburgh, North Braddock and Whitaker have asked the state Department of Community and Economic Development to study the feasibility of a merger. The task will involve analyzing the boroughs’ demographics, finances and other factors to determine whether a consolidated police force would, in fact, be in the communities’ best interest.
It would be fitting if a regional, more professional, better-equipped police department resulted from Antwon Rose II’s death.
East Pittsburgh disbanded its force in December, about six months after one of its officers, Michael Rosfeld, fatally shot 17-year-old Antwon after a traffic stop. Mr. Rosfeld was charged with criminal homicide in the unarmed youth’s death. A jury acquitted him March 22.
Antwon’s death focused renewed attention on southwestern Pennsylvania’s municipal fragmentation and political parochialism. The Post-Gazette reported wide disparities in staffing, training, pay and resources among Allegheny County’s 100-plus police departments, noting that lower-paid, lesser-trained officers routinely work in communities with the highest crime rates.
East Pittsburgh, a borough of about 1,800 with a handful of officers and a lack of written policies to guide their work, had no business operating its own department. State police have been covering East Pittsburgh since the borough disbanded its force.
Civil-rights activists who have called for improvements in policing since Antwon’s death should do all they can to encourage joint police departments like the one East Pittsburgh and its neighbors now are considering. Besides the free feasibility study, the state should offer training, equipment and other help to create and incubate a joint force that could help to stimulate other consolidations.
Help also should come from other quarters, including the district attorney’s office, which in the past has issued guidelines on vehicle pursuits and other topics; the city’s law schools, which can help officers to a better understanding of civil rights and legal precedents; and the Congress of Neighboring Communities, a University of Pittsburgh satellite that studies municipal cooperation.
But nothing will happen unless municipal leaders shake off old habits and embrace a willingness to change. As Chief Wooten pointed out, many small departments already support each other. It shouldn’t be so difficult to parlay that cooperation into something much better.
First Published: April 8, 2019, 10:00 a.m.
