Latest news with #ChrisRagland
Yahoo
06-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Pittsburgh City Council members deny pressuring Chris Ragland about assistant chief promotion
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. RELATED COVERAGE >>> Acting Police Chief Chris Ragland resigns, pressured to meet demands that went against his morals 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. RELATED COVERAGE >>> NAACP schedules 6 public forums to question proposed police chief Chris Ragland 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. Download the FREE WPXI News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Channel 11 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch WPXI NOW
Yahoo
18-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Mayor Gainey's administration supports community forum for next police chief
There are new developments in the effort to appoint acting Pittsburgh police chief Chris Ragland to the role of chief. 11 Investigates has learned that Mayor Ed Gainey's administration supports the proposed community forum requested by the Pittsburgh Chapter of the NAACP. Deputy Mayor Jake Pawlak on Monday addressed delays in the confirmation of Acting Chief Chris Ragland. He said it's part of the normal process. 'It's not uncommon. My own confirmation hearing, my own confirmation, a couple years back there was a week or two in between, it was just a matter of scheduling the hearing dates,' said Deputy Mayor Jake Pawlak. 11 Investigates broke the story that the first call for a postponement of the confirmation came from Pittsburgh City Councilman Anthony Coghill. At a council meeting, Coghill called a public hearing on the next police chief to get input from residents. RELATED COVERAGE >>> Pittsburgh City Council delays vote on Chris Ragland as next police chief Shortly after that, the President of the Pittsburgh NAACP chapter sent a letter to Mayor Ed Gainey and the Pittsburgh City Council, demanding a community forum to question Ragland about his qualifications and his vision for the Police Bureau. RELATED COVERAGE >>> Pittsburgh NAACP president explains call to delay Chris Ragland's confirmation as next police chief Pawlak said today the administration fully supports a public process. 'There was a request for a community forum... made by the NAACP. We worked with the Council President's office and the administration agrees that's a great idea and we will work with council to jointly host an event of that nature,' Pawlak said. After only 17 months on the job, former Police Chief Larry Scirotto abruptly retired amid a controversy over his return to officiate college basketball. 11 Investigates broke that story last fall. In light of his hasty departure, the President of the Pittsburgh NAACP, in an interview with 11 Investigates last week, called for more transparency. RELATED COVERAGE >>> Pittsburgh Police Chief Larry Scirotto to retire after mounting pressure over side job 'I think there should be an open process, especially because we know the difficulties of the last Chief of Police that left, you know some of the issues that were raised and just making sure City Council and the administration is addressing some of those concerns before bringing on somebody new to the position,' said Pittsburgh NAACP President Daylon Davis. No dates have been set yet for the public hearing and the community forum. Download the FREE WPXI News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Channel 11 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch WPXI NOW
