PITTSBURGH (AP) - Mayor Bill Peduto has promoted a 24-year veteran officer to be his new police chief, going inside the department after an outside hire lasted barely two years.
Friday’s selection of Scott Schubert, who has been acting chief, marks a major change for the mayor who hired former Milwaukee police Capt. Cameron McLay in September 2014 with the hopes of reforming the nearly 900-officer department.
But McLay lost the confidence of the police union over a number of issues, not the least of which was addressing the Democratic National Convention in uniform in July. He resigned in November.
City Council must still approve the appointment, and Schubert’s nomination will first be considered on Tuesday.
The police union president didn’t immediately return a call for comment. Elizabeth Pittinger, executive director of the Citizen Police Review Board, applauded the move. The independent agency investigates allegations of police misconduct and makes non-binding disciplinary recommendations.
“I think it’s good news,” Pittinger said. “He’s certainly handled some difficult situations since he’s been acting chief.”
Most recently, Schubert went to bat for Officer Paul Abel after he charged Steelers assistant coach Joey Porter with assaulting Abel and a bouncer outside a bar Jan. 8. The district attorney says video of the incident didn’t support the most serious charges against Porter, but Pittinger found the officer was justified in filing the charges, truthful and measured in his handling of the incident. Porter has a court date Feb. 21 to answer to the two remaining citations for disorderly conduct and public drunkenness.
McLay angered some rank-and-file officers with his convention speech, his tacit approval of the Black Lives Matter movement, and by changing how officers are assigned to lucrative details providing security at bars and major events, like concerts, parade and pro sports games.
An internal police investigation, and a separate one by Peduto’s office, found McLay’s DNC convention speech didn’t violate city policies banning officers from political activities while in uniform or on-duty, though Pittinger’s review board found differently. McLay wasn’t disciplined, but the union held a no-confidence vote in September.
McLay defended his remarks as nonpartisan and meant to stress the need for better police-community relations.
Still, Pittinger praised McLay for “shaking the foundational philosophy” of the police bureau, and says Schubert is well-equipped to build on that.
“Chief Schubert is not only respected within the police bureau, but across our neighborhoods, as well,” Peduto said in a statement.
Schubert spent two years as an officer in Coraopolis, a nearby suburb, before Pittsburgh hired him in 1993. His rise through the ranks has been steady, if not spectacular.
His first major promotion was to sergeant in the city’s Mobile Crime Unit, which gathers evidence from scenes. As lieutenant he handled major crimes then moved to the chief’s office overseeing emergency preparedness. After his promotion to zone commander, he became assistant chief of the police bureau’s Operations Branch before being named acting chief.
“My dream has always been to be a Pittsburgh Police Officer, and it is humbling to be considered for the position of chief,” Schubert said in a statement.
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