PITTSBURGH — On Wednesday, Channel 11 pressed members of Pittsburgh City Council on their involvement with Acting Chief Chris Ragland’s resignation. Sources close to the process told us that Ragland was getting pressure from city council members about who he should promote to be his assistant chief.
Mayor Ed Gainey called those actions inappropriate.
“Nothing was said, nothing was done, and if the chief was there, the director was there, somebody should have intervened,” said Councilwoman Theresa Kail-Smith, who represents District 2.
“I believe I threw three or four names out that were on the top of my head,” said Anthony Coghill, who represents District 4.
Sources close to the process told us that acting Chief Ragland was getting pressure from council members Anthony Coghill and Theresa Kail-Smith about who he should make his assistant chief. They both denied those claims.
Coghill told us he made suggestions based on his role as the public safety chairman.
“For me, it was important for him to win my vote, that I needed to know that he was going to surround himself with professionally experienced people that I know in the police force, not anybody in particular,” Coghill said.
The mayor said those actions were inappropriate.
“I think it’s wrong, and I think at the end of the day no council person should be asking somebody that you can have my vote if you put somebody in position,” Mayor Gainey said.
Other members of the council, on Wednesday, weighed in on the incident.
“I think the coordinated efforts behind the scenes from certain members of council really at the end of the day became too much,” said Barb Warwick, who represents District 5.
Last month, the council — along with community stakeholders like the NAACP and the Black Political Empowerment Project — asked for several community town halls before Ragland’s appointment.
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Kail-Smith said those meetings were not a stall tactic, despite her belief that a chief should not be selected until after the May Democratic mayoral primary.
“I thought it was a good process that we had the public involved, we had the police involved, we were trying to get to a place where everyone felt comfortable,” Kail-Smith said.
Gainey is confident that his administration keeps politics out of the selection process and said he is committed to finding the best person for the position.
“We are always going to make decisions not based on politics or external pressure; I’ve never done that,” Gainey said.
The mayor said he will likely look within the department for the next chief and plans to meet with commanders later this month. The council plans to introduce legislation to solidify the hiring process next week.
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