Brackenridge Police returned to work Sunday, nearly three weeks after Chief Justin. McIntyre was shot dead Tracking.
a few days after his death, Police volunteered from all over the area To cover patrols so that Borough officials could grieve.
Mayor Lindsey Fraser said the borough’s limited staff will require continued support from the state police.
In a social media post, Fraser said, “Before we lost Chief McIntyre, we had four full-time officers working long hours to provide our community with 24-hour local police oversight. was active.
“We cannot provide services 24 hours a day, 7 days a week with only three full-time staff.”
The Borough also lost non-executive director Theodore Bajak, who resigned on January 1.
Ward officials will cover shifts Sunday through Friday nights while Congress works on a long-term solution.
State Police patrol the district from 10:00 p.m. Friday to 10:00 p.m. Sunday. There is no charge to the borough for services.
At the regular council meeting on 5 January, the members appointed a longtime sergeant. Mike Duffy as the officer in charge. No details or timeline have been released as to how the search for the new chief will take place. The Council has its next meeting scheduled for his February 2nd at 6pm.
At least one resident wants the borough to encourage the hiring of additional police.
Tom Pendergast says it’s not the lack of protection that worries him. Rather, he is concerned about the pressure on his three Borough officials who do not have his staff backing them up.
“(Harrison, Tarentum and Brackenridge) are doing a great job covering each other on the field,” he said. “What concerns me is the police officers working under pressure that they have no one to cover their personal days and sick days. No one in any field should have to do that.”
We have a tight budget, but thanks to a $75,000 state-funded donation by Rep. Mandy Steele, money won’t be an issue when it comes to paying for additional police costs.
Steele notified the Borough of the donation days after McIntyre’s death. She said it is to be used at the council’s discretion for the police department.
“We were able to secure the funding to get us through this difficult time,” said Steele. “These are small things in the face of such an incredible loss, but I hope they help make the path forward a little easier for the community.”
The donation represents approximately 15% of the borough’s $490,000 police budget.
Fraser said he thanked the state police for working with the city government until a solution was determined.
“We continue to thank everyone who has supported our small community,” she said. “I hope we continue to hold each other and ourselves in the spirit of grace and teamwork.”
Tawnya Panizzi is a staff writer for Tribune-Review. Tawnya can be reached by email at tpanizzi@triblive.com or on her Twitter. .
