Pittsburgh police Acting Chief Christopher Ragland is leaving the department and has withdrawn his name from consideration to be permanent chief.
He addressed the media Tuesday afternoon during a press conference at police headquarters on the North Side, which was hastily arranged after news leaked of his pending departure.
“Serving as your acting chief for the last four months has been one of the greatest honors of my career,” Ragland said, thanking Mayor Ed Gainey.
Earlier in the day, Ragland, who Gainey nominated just last month to helm the police bureau permanently after the controversial resignation of his predecessor, formally withdrew his name from consideration for the top post and announced internally his departure from the bureau he served for nearly 31 years.
Gainey’s top spokesperson, Cydney Cooper, told TribLive the mayor would not be available for an interview Tuesday.
The mayor, however, sent out a press release that said Ragland is going to work in the private sector for a national firm.
“I receive the Chief’s news with regret. I felt he was the right man for the job and brought integrity and courage to a difficult position. I also respect his reasons for making his choice, and I believe it was a difficult decision for an officer who has given so much to our city,” Gainey said in a statement.
Ragland called on the city to move “expeditiously” on approving a new chief.
The sudden news, coming less than two weeks after a tense press conference at which Ragland affirmed his desire to be the city’s top cop, did not sit well with City Council members.
“It’s unsettling,” said Councilman Anthony Coghill, D-Beechview. “I wish we would not have lost our acting chief. It’s destabilizing.”
Ragland said he will use his accrued time and “officially retire” in July, according to an email, obtained by TribLive, which circulated to the bureau’s rank and file.
“Police work is a front-row seat to a life few ever get to see,” Ragland, 53, of Downtown, wrote. “It can be rewarding, exhilarating, heartbreaking and mundane, all within the same shift.”
Ragland said Martin Devine, an assistant chief and 24-year veteran, will take over for him as the bureau’s acting chief, marking yet another whiplash-inducing move by Pittsburgh officials trying to stabilize the force’s leadership.
Public Safety Director Lee Schmidt confirmed that Devine would take over by day’s end and that Ragland’s resignation would become official.
At the end of October, Ragland took over the 759-member force following the abrupt departure of Larry Scirotto, who resigned amid controversy over a secret deal with the mayor to allow him to resume moonlighting as an NCAA basketball referee.
In recent weeks some City Council members and community activists called on the mayor’s office to slow the confirmation process.
Council moved to ensure that Ragland would answer questions under oath because they felt they had been burned by Scirotto. They were also working on a bill to mandate that Ragland appear at community forums in all six of the city’s police zones.
“As part of my confirmation process with City Council, we were planning to hold a series of public meetings which I was eager to partake in,” Ragland said.
“However the process turned from what it should’ve been – which was an honest inquiry into my qualifications for the job – into a political football with endless delays and pressure for political dealmaking.”
Ragland praised his officers and the selection of Devine to replace him.
“I think the police bureau is strong,” Ragland said. “I think Acting Chief Devine will do a fantastic job. He has the confidence (of) the organization. He has the confidence of Director Schmidt. And I’m sure he has the confidence of the mayor.”
Ragland addressed questions about possible friction between him and Gainey.
“The mayor’s office, the mayor himself, never made any requests of me other than to lead this bureau with integrity and honesty,” Ragland said.
He was also asked whether anyone had pressured him to make appointments to the command staff with which he disagreed. His answer was cryptic.
“There was certain things that came to light, certain requests, I don’t exactly want to get into them right now. At the end of the day you have to be willing to stand by your principles, stand by your morals, stand by your ethics,” Ragland said.
He did not elaborate.
Moving forward
Pittsburgh City Council members were digesting the latest news Tuesday and discussing how to move forward. Council President R. Daniel Lavelle said he learned of Ragland’s decision from a TV news report.
“I think it’s unfortunate,” Lavelle said. “I think it’s important that we have not just an acting chief but a full chief of police, hopefully sooner than later.”
Finding a permanent chief, which is becoming an unexpectedly complicated task, will likely not involve the type of national search used for Scirotto but not Ragland.
“I certainly would not expect a national search,” Lavelle said. “We haven’t budgeted for that. A national search would need a significant amount of resources.”
Councilman Bob Charland, D-South Side, echoed that sentiment.
“I lean against another national search, especially spending money on another national search, seeing what the last search got us,” Charland said.
He mused whether a current assistant chief could step in.
Charland said he has faith in the zone commanders and rank-and-file officers to maintain safety, even as leadership is in limbo.
“However, not having a captain at the top of the ship is not a sustainable solution, and I hope that Mayor Gainey works even harder to find who is the next chief here,” Charland said.
Charland, a vocal critic of Gainey, criticized the mayor for the lack of a permanent chief after Scirotto’s departure amid controversy.
“Mayor Gainey is a great guy who cares a lot about the city and is trying his best, but this is another example of the mayor’s incompetence,” Charland said.
Seeking ‘still waters’
As the bureau struggles to retain and recruit staff, Charland said he worried this wouldn’t help the bureau.
“I feel for the rank-and-file officers who have told me they want continuity,” he said. “They want still waters. They don’t want to work in a turbulent workplace. Although I think Mayor Gainey’s trying his best, he’s provided another source of turbulence.”
Councilwoman Theresa Kail-Smith, D-West End, said she was grateful for Ragland’s three decades of service to the bureau, including his recent stint as acting chief.
“I think the bureau is obviously in a challenging time,” she said. “But I also think this is a time where we can really reflect on what needs to happen with the bureau, what leadership should look like and how we want to engage the public.”
Kail-Smith said she wants to see the bureau promote a new chief from within its own ranks but did not specify who she considered top candidates.
“I think it should wait until after the general election, if not the swearing in for the next mayor, whoever that is,” she said.
Gainey, who is running for reelection, will face a Democratic primary challenger on May 20, Allegheny County Controller Corey O’Connor. Two Republican candidates will also duke it out in the primary.
Coghill said he was surprised and disappointed Ragland is leaving. He said Ragland had seemed receptive to his efforts to legislate a new public process that would require chiefs to engage in a series of community meetings throughout the city.
Like Kail-Smith, Coghill said he hopes to find an internal replacement.
Coghill also pitched the idea of looking to other local police forces – like the Allegheny County Police and Allegheny County Sheriff’s Office – which have many former Pittsburgh officers among their ranks.
“I think we have a lot of qualified, experienced men and women that can step in and fill these shoes,” Coghill said.
He suggested first considering the assistant chiefs, who have experience and already serve as leaders in the bureau.