POLICE CHIEF NOMINEE LARRY SCIROTTO. BEHIND HIM MAYORAL SPOKESPERSON MARIA MONTAÑO AND PUBLIC SAFETY DIRECTOR LEE SCHMIDT | PHOTO BY ERIC JANKIEWICZ | PUBLIC SOURCE

Larry Scirotto, a 23-year veteran of the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police, retired as an assistant chief in 2018. Pending city council approval, he will return as chief of the 800-plus member department.

Mayor Ed Gainey made the announcement at a press conference Wednesday morning inside the first-floor lobby of the City-County Building.

“His deep ties in the city and his deep ties in the bureau, and his outside perspective, make him the right choice,” Gainey said. Wednesday.

Scirotto described the nomination as a “dream come true,” acknowledging he knows the city well “I know its strengths. I know its weaknesses.”

Among his first priorities are to re-evaluate the police bureau and reorganize it to maximize its resources while focusing on gun violence.

While the announcement ends a long search that began nearly a year ago, it wasn’t much of a surprise. Media reports indicated last week that Gainey had picked Scirotto over two other finalists, Frederick, Md. police chief Jason Lando and former Boise, Idaho police chief Ryan Lee. Lando spent more than 20 years with the Pittsburgh Police and was the longtime leader of the Zone 5 station.

Scirotto arrives with a bit of baggage.

He was fired in March 2022 as chief of the Fort Lauderdale Police Department in Florida after an investigation concluded Scirotto implemented an approach to hiring and promotion that was unfairly focused on minority candidates. At the time, Scirotto told CNN that the report that led to the investigation was “vague on on the facts,” and largely based on hearsay. He has since sued the department seeking monetary damages and back pay.