On Thursday, hundreds of thousands of people are expected to start flooding Pittsburgh for the 2026 NFL Draft.
But even as the city’s police force prepares for what could be the largest public event in Pittsburgh history, it’s clawing back from its worst staffing crisis in a generation.
That worries the head of the Pittsburgh police union, who said the bureau simply isn’t ready for an operation of this size.
“They’re significantly overcommitted and under-resourced. They just do not have the resources to do what they want to do,” Robert Swartzwelder, president of Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 1, told TribLive recently. “It’s all a hope and a prayer and luck — that’s their strategy.”
Pittsburgh police Chief Jason Lando pushed back on that assessment. He called officers’ coverage during the draft “adequate” but provided no staffing figures or details about contingency plans.
“I don’t want to use the term overstaffed,” Lando told TribLive. “But this is an all-hands-on-deck event.”
There are 780 sworn officers and recruits. They include top-ranking supervisors, officers out on disability and those on leave. When those numbers are taken into account, the actual complement of officers working the draft hovers somewhere around 650, according to both the police bureau and the union.
During a Tuesday afternoon news conference at Acrisure Stadium, local, state and federal law enforcement agencies offered broad assurances about public safety for the three-day event, which runs through Saturday, but provided few concrete details.
“We are excited for this, and I believe we’re definitely prepared,” Pennsylvania State Police Capt. Jeremy Barni said. He added that uniformed troopers will cover “a very large footprint” during the draft, which sprawls across the North Shore and Point State Park in Downtown Pittsburgh.
He did not elaborate.
The NFL’s security czar stressed that law enforcement agencies have “established multiple layers of communication” to share information on potential threats during the event.
“We’ve rehearsed. We’ve exercised. We’ve practiced,” said Chief Security Officer Cathy L. Lanier, Washington, D.C.’s former police chief.
She did not elaborate.
Pittsburgh police Cmdr. Anthony Palermo, who’s led the bureau’s draft planning for more than a year, was asked about police staffing levels in the city — both inside and beyond the draft footprint.
“I’m not going to share specific operational details,” Palermo said. “All of our zones are fully staffed to handle all their day-to-day calls.”
He also did not elaborate.
Drones and defibrillators
Some safety-related details did surface Tuesday.
Authorities, including the U.S. Coast Guard, plan to block all commercial boats from the three-river confluence during the draft.
A “no-drone zone” will run 12 or more hours daily on all three days of the event.
The NFL’s Lanier cited “extensive plans in place” should Pittsburgh get walloped with high winds, lightning or other dangerous weather conditions.
Richard Evanchec, who heads the FBI’s Pittsburgh office, said his staff “is aware of no specific or credible threats” tied to the event.
More than 100 EMTs and paramedics will be working and ready to handle emergencies during the draft, Pittsburgh Assistant EMS Chief Jen McDermott-Grubb said.
EMS will staff two first-aid stations, one each on the eastern and western sides of Acrisure Stadium, McDermott-Grubb said.
Several “roving teams” equipped with cardiac equipment such as defibrillators will patrol the draft area.
EMS did not cancel “pass days” or paid time off to ensure staffing levels, McDermott-Grubb said.
But Swartzwelder, the police union head, filed contract grievances this year after police brass canceled all paid time off for officers slated to work during the draft.
“All the planning is very generalized,” Swartzwelder said. “Nobody wants to talk about it because the NFL bullies everyone.”
Chester County police?
In March, Pittsburgh City Council moved to fast-track agreements with 18 law enforcement agencies to help out during the draft.
The list included sheriff’s offices from six Pennsylvania counties, three municipal forces and officers from the University of Pittsburgh and West Virginia University. It also included “Chester County Police.”
“I don’t know if anybody in Chester County, in eastern PA, would be engaged in the draft,” Andrew Kreider, a spokesman for Chester County, west of Philadelphia, said. “And there is no such thing as the Chester County Police.”
Multiple agencies on the list refused to answer any questions about their role in the multimillion-dollar event.
“For security reasons, we cannot share specific public safety plans, but Allegheny County Police will have an increased presence in the city,” Allegheny County Police spokesman Jim Madalinsky said in a prepared statement.
“Other than acknowledging that our office is part of the larger public safety effort regarding the upcoming NFL Draft, Sheriff Kraus does not wish to discuss any details regarding that involvement or make a statement about our involvement,” Mike Manko, the Allegheny County Sheriff’s Office spokesman, said.
Federal agencies also have been mum.
“We do not disclose operational details or discuss personnel numbers for security,” said a spokesman for the Department of Homeland Security, one of the 18 agencies with which Pittsburgh plans to partner.
The federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives declined an interview request.
“To protect the methods used by ATF and our partner agencies, we need to limit discussion of the overt and covert activities we employ to keep our publics (sic) secure,” ATF spokesman Ben Benson said in an emailed statement.
Lending a hand
Some officials said they were providing explosive-detecting police dogs for the event at their own cost. Several said they were happy to lend Pittsburgh a hand in a moment of need.
Westmoreland County Park Police is sending one officer to work the draft. He will be joined by a police dog “specifically trained in explosives and firearm protection,” Chief Jeff Shearer said.
“I think the K-9 group is just doing sweeps of the facility,” Shearer said. “They’re not doing arrests or anything like that.”
A West Virginia University spokeswoman confirmed the school’s police force is sending one officer and a police dog.
The Center Township Police Department in Beaver County is sending an explosive-detecting dog. So is the Northern Regional Police Department in Pittsburgh’s North Hills.
Northern Regional Chief Bryan DeWick said his department is doing the work without reimbursement. He called it the equivalent of a “mutual aid” agreement.
“I like to collaborate — we’re all in this together,” DeWick said. “And I hope, if I need something in the future, hopefully Pittsburgh will return the favor.”