| Pittsburgh Police Chief | |
|---|---|
 Flag of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania | |
since November 1, 2024 | |
| Pittsburgh Bureau of Police | |
| Appointer | Mayor of Pittsburgh |
The Pittsburgh Police Chief is an American law enforcement official who serves as the head of the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police, appointed by the Mayor of Pittsburgh. The Chief is a civilian administrator, and was historically referred to as the Police Superintendent as well as Chief, both titles having the same authority and meaning.
| No. | Chief | Appointed by | Start | End | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Matthew J. Green | mayor | 1868 | 1869 | |
| 2 | Robert Hague | Brush | 1869 | 1872 | |
| 3 | John Irwin | Blackmore | 1872 | 1875 | |
| 4 | James McCandless | McCarthy | 1875 | 1876 | |
| 5 | W. M. Hartzell | McCarthy | 1876 | 1877 | |
| 6 | Philip Demmel | McCarthy | 1877 | 1878 | |
| 7 | Robert Hague | Liddell | 1878 | 1879 | |
| 8 | J. P. Heisel | Lyon | 1881 | 1883 | |
| 9 | G. L. Braun or L. G. Brown | Fulton | 1884 | 1884 | |
| 10 | T. A. Blackmore | Fulton | 1885 | 1886 | Was a "viewer" clerk in 1892. [1] |
| 11 | Nathan S. Brokaw | Fulton | 1887 | 1887 | |
| 12 | Roger O'Mara | McCallin | 1889 (Feb 23-Mar 10) | 1896 (March 6) | aug. 1892, [2] June 24, 1894 was arrested with Public Safety Dir. [3] makes 2,400/year |
| 13 | A. H. Leslie | Ford | 1896 (August 1) | 1901 (October 1) | Jul 1 1899 [4] Jul 8 1901 or before [5] |
| 14 | Soloman Coulson | Diehl | 1900 | [4] was asst. super jul 1899; | |
| 15 | A. H. Leslie | Ford | 1896 (August 1) | 1901 (October 1) | Jul 1 1899 [4] Jul 8 1901 or before [5] |
| 16 | Gamble Weir | mayor | 1901? | ||
| 17 | Roger O'Mara | Diehl | 1901 (Jan 14) | 1901 (Sep 10) | |
| 18 | John McAleese | mayor | by Feb. 3 1902 [6] | Previously warden of the Allegheny county jail; in 1911 lived in Fay, Lawrence Co. [7] | |
| 19 | John P. McTighe | Brown | March 5 1903 was under consideration [8] | [9] [10] hats, 400 officers | |
| 20 | Bernard McStay | Hays | early 1904 | 1904 (April 30) [11] | |
| 21 | Alexander W. "Buck" Wallace | Hays | 1904 (April 30) [11] | June 1906 was out [12] | [13] [14] ran for alderman 1908 [15] big bio, [16] ran a saloon, [12] lived with sister & denied pay cause "out of towner", [17] brother died aug. 1904 |
| 22 | Thomas A. McQuaide | Guthrie | 1906 | 1914 [18] | [19] joined 1886 chief of detectives 1903, chief 1906-? 3 mayors [20] [21] 1911 |
| 23 | Noble Matthews | Armstrong | 1914 | 1918 | [18] |
| 24 | Robert J. Alderdice | Babcock | 1918 [18] | 1921 [18] | [22] [23] |
| 25 | Davis | Babcock | 1919 (September 28) | 1921? | |
| 26 | Thomas F. Carroll | Babcock | 1921 (June 11?) | 1921 (August 17?) | [24] [25] |
| 27 | John C. Calhoun | Magee | 1922 (April 13) | 1922 (September 5) | [26] |
| 28 | Edward N. Jones | Magee | 1923 (June 17) | 1923 (November) | [27] |
| 29 | Edward J. Brophy | Magee | 1923 (November 18) | 1926 (Spring) | [28] |
| 30 | Peter Paul Walsh | Kline | 1926 (Spring) | 1933 (April 15) | [29] [30] [31] [32] [33] |
| 31 | Franklin T. McQuaide | Herron | 1933 (April 15) | 1934 (January) | |
| 32 | Ben R. Marshall | McNair | 1934 (January) | 1934 (September) | [34] Joined 1909 [35] [36] |
| 33 | Jacob F. Dorsey* | McNair | 1934 (September) | 1936 (Summer) | |
| 34 | Franklin T. McQuaide | Scully | 1936 (Summer) | 1939 (March 17) | [37] |
| 35 | Harvey J. Scott | Scully | 1939 (March 17) | 1952 (August 11) | [38] |
| 36 | Henry Pieper* | Lawrence | 1952 (August 11) | 1952 (August 13) | [38] [39] |
| 37 | James W. Slusser | Lawrence | 1952 (August 13) | 1970 (January 5) | [39] [40] [41] [42] |
| 38 | Stephen A. Joyce | Flaherty | 1970 (January 5) | 1971 (February 10) | [43] |
| 39 | Robert E. Colville | Flaherty | 1971 (February 10) | 1975 (March 1) | [44] |
| 40 | Robert J. Coll | Flaherty | 1975 (March 1) | 1986 (April 4) | [45] |
| 41 | William Ward* | Caliguiri | 1986 (April 4) | 1986 (April 21) | [46] |
| 42 | William "Mugsy" Moore | Caliguiri | 1986 (April 21) | 1987 (May 11) | [47] [48] |
| 43 | Donald Aubrecht* | Caliguiri | 1987 (May 11) | 1987 (May 22) | [48] |
| 44 | Ralph Pampena | Caliguiri | 1987 (May 22) | 1990 (May 17) | [49] |
| 45 | Mayer DeRoy | Masloff | 1990 (May 17) | 1992 (June 15) | [50] [51] |
| 46 | Earl Buford | Masloff | 1992 (June 15) | 1995 (December 29) | [51] [52] |
| 47 | William E. Bochter* | Murphy | 1995 (December 29) | 1996 (April 2) | [53] |
| 48 | Robert McNeilly | Murphy | 1996 (April 2) | 2006 (January 2) | [54] [55] |
| 49 | Dom Costa | O'Connor | 2006 (January 2) | 2006 (September 28) | [56] |
| 50 | Earl Woodyard, Jr.* | Ravenstahl | 2006 (September 29) | 2006 (October 31) | |
| 51 | Nathan Harper | Ravenstahl | 2006 (October 31) | 2013 (February 20) | [57] |
| 52 | Regina McDonald* | Ravenstahl | 2013 (February 20) | 2014 (September 15) | [58] |
| 53 | Cameron McLay | Peduto | 2014 (September 15) | 2016 (November 8) | [59] |
| 54 | Scott Schubert | Peduto | 2016 (November 8) | 2022 (July 1) | [60] |
| 55 | Larry Scirotto | Gainey | 2023 (July 7) | 2024 (November 1) | [61] |
| 56 | Christopher Ragland | Gainey | 2024 (November 1) | Present | [62] |
Pittsburgh was required by an 1887 state law to have a Public Safety Director over all emergency responders. [63]
David Leo Lawrence was an American politician who served as the 37th governor of Pennsylvania from 1959 to 1963. The first Catholic elected as Pennsylvania's governor, Lawrence is the only mayor of Pittsburgh to have also been elected as Governor of Pennsylvania. He served four terms as mayor, from 1946 through 1959. A panel of 69 scholars in 1993 ranked him third among the ten best mayors in American history.
Peter Francis Flaherty was an American politician and attorney. He served as assistant district attorney of Allegheny County from 1957 to 1964, a member of the Pittsburgh City Council from 1966 to 1970, the 54th mayor of Pittsburgh from 1970 to 1977, United States deputy attorney general during the Carter administration from 1977 to 1978, and county commissioner of Allegheny County from 1984 to 1996.
Recreation Park was a sporting grounds and stadium that stood from 1865 to 1905 in Allegheny City, Pennsylvania, which was annexed in 1907 and became the North Side region of Pittsburgh. The park was bounded by Allegheny Avenue, Pennsylvania Avenue, Grant Avenue, and Boquet Street.
The David L. Lawrence Convention Center is a 1,500,000-square-foot (140,000 m2) convention, conference and exhibition building in downtown Pittsburgh in the U.S. commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is served by two exits on Interstate 579. The initial David L. Lawrence Convention Center was completed on the site on February 7, 1981, but as part of a renewal plan the new, completely redesigned center was opened in 2003 and funded in conjunction with nearby Acrisure Stadium and PNC Park. It sits on the southern shoreline of the Allegheny River. It is the first LEED-certified convention center in North America and one of the first in the world. It is owned by the Sports & Exhibition Authority of Pittsburgh and Allegheny County.
Allegheny County Airport Authority is a municipal authority in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania that oversees and maintains the Allegheny County airport system. These include management of Pittsburgh International Airport as well as Allegheny County Airport. The authority is also a key lobbying and public interest agency often representing the local aviation industry and related industry interests in Harrisburg and on the federal level.
The Pittsburgh Police (PBP), officially the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police, is the largest law enforcement agency in Western Pennsylvania and the third largest in Pennsylvania. The modern force of salaried and professional officers was founded in 1857 but dates back to the night watchmen beginning in 1794, and the subsequent day patrols in the early 19th century, in the then borough of Pittsburgh. By 1952 the Bureau had a strength of 1,400 sworn officers; in July 1985, 1,200; and by November 1989, 1,040.
Ernest H. "Rags" Brown was an American college football player and coach. He served as the head football coach at University of Georgia in 1893 and Pittsburgh Catholic College of the Holy Ghost in 1896.
The Pittsburgh City-County Building is the seat of government for the City of Pittsburgh, and houses both city and Allegheny County offices. It is located in Downtown Pittsburgh at 414 Grant Street. Built from 1915 to 1917 it is the third seat of government of Pittsburgh. Today the building is occupied mostly by Pittsburgh offices with Allegheny County located in adjacent county facilities. It also contains a courtroom used for the Pittsburgh sessions of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania.
JohnMoore Van Cleve was an American football player and coach, and one of the first known professional players of the sport. After playing college football at Lehigh, he played five seasons for independent teams in or near Pittsburgh and served in 1898 as player-coach for Pittsburgh College, later known as Duquesne University.
The 1893 Pittsburgh Athletic Club football season was their fourth season in existence. The team finished with a record of 7–2.
Robert E. Colville was a Democratic politician and attorney from Pennsylvania.
The Allegheny County district attorney is the elected district attorney for Pittsburgh and Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. The office is responsible for the prosecution of violations of Pennsylvania commonwealth laws. The current district attorney is Stephen Zappala.
Artemas C. Leslie was the Allegheny County District Attorney serving metropolitan Pittsburgh, United States, from December 17, 1945, until January 1948. He was a member of the Republican Party.
Russell Hartley Adams was an American attorney who served as Allegheny County District Attorney, including metropolitan Pittsburgh, from January 1942 until December 17, 1945. He was a member of the Republican Party.
Robert J. Coll was a longtime Pittsburgh Police leader, who served as Pittsburgh Police Chief from March 1, 1975 – April 4, 1986. He first joined the force in 1960. In the last year of his tenure as Chief the Pittsburgh Police boasted 1,200 sworn officers.
The Dapper Dan Charities were founded by Pittsburgh Post-Gazette editor Al Abrams in 1936. It is one of the oldest nonprofit and fundraising community sports clubs in the world and the oldest in Western Pennsylvania. The foundation fundraises for its charities primarily through the annual "Dapper Dan Banquet". Started in 1936, the first few banquets honored such regional figures as Art Rooney, Jock Sutherland and John Harris. In 1939, the banquet began an annual tradition of naming the region's "Sportsman of the Year" and in 1999 the "Sportswoman of the Year". In recent decades, all charitable contributions raised by the banquet go to the Boys and Girls club of Western Pennsylvania, which directly funds activities and equipment for nearly 7,000 youths annually. The organization also sponsored the annual Dapper Dan Wrestling Classic.
Peter Paul Walsh was a longtime Pittsburgh Police leader, who served as Pittsburgh Police Chief from the spring of 1926 until April 15, 1933. He was born and raised in Pittsburgh and was a steel mill worker before joining the police force in 1898. In 1903 he was promoted to lieutenant and then captain, achieving the rank of inspector in 1907 and commissioner in 1914. From 1920 until 1926 he worked in the private sector as chief of security for the Jones and Laughlin Steel Company. He was the father of nine.
James Slusser was an American police officer. He was a longtime Pittsburgh police leader who served as Pittsburgh Police Chief from August 13, 1952-January 5, 1970. He joined the force in 1941.
The Greater Pittsburgh Chamber of Commerce is a Pittsburgh area non-profit that promotes business and community development throughout Southwestern Pennsylvania.
The Pittsburg Times was a morning daily newspaper published in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, from 1880 to 1906. It was a predecessor of The Gazette Times, which in turn was succeeded by the present-day Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
