Penn Hills officials welcome 10 new police officers, all full-time

Penn Hills officials welcomed new police officers to the municipality when Mayor Pauline Calabrese swore in 10 full-time patrolmen and women at the Jan. 23 council meeting.

“This is such a tremendous evening,” Calabrese said. “I’m so proud of seeing you all stand here, and we are so grateful and honored by your service and the service of your fellow officers. … We absolutely appreciate the risks that you take, and we thank you so much for your service.”

Some of the officers were hired in April, some in August and some earlier this month.

Calabrese said the municipality’s charter grants the police chief the power to hire and fire officers. They are sworn in by a judge as part of the employment process.

The council meeting ceremony was an opportunity to showcase the officers and the department, the mayor said.

Officers sworn in were Kenneth Sebastian Jr. 28, of Lower Burrell; Grant Mularski, 26, of Greensburg; Ryan Kingerski, 24, of Monroeville; Lauren Savulchak, 31, of Shaler; Jeremy Brentley, 35, of Penn Hills, Zachary Storch 23, of Monroeville; Brandon Duffy, 32, formerly of Washington, D.C.; Isaiah Jenkins, 29, of Greensburg; Nolan Sion, 23, of Monongahela and Chad Miles, 24, of Penn Hills.

The police department has 52 officers, all full-time, including the 10 introduced at the meeting.

“To see the swearing in of those officers, and the diversity that I saw this evening, made me a very proud councilwoman,” Penn Hills councilwoman Catherine Sapp said.

Police Chief Ronald Como said one of his goals after taking over the department in January 2022 was to add staffing. He plans to add five more this year.

“We are on our way to 57 officers, which was the goal when I got hired,” Como said. “We have two in the police academy right now and three are on our hiring list. We are one of the few departments that send cadets to the academy.

“It’s going to help with overtime. It’s going to create a couple other positions to help the municipality.”

Police Sgt. Gary Renko said he believes Penn Hills has the largest municipal police department in Allegheny County, outside of the City of Pittsburgh.

“We need a lot of coverage to make sure all our shifts are filled, to make sure we have quick response times and adequate officers on scene to make sure we’re able to handle anything that may arise,” he said.

Allegheny County spokeswoman Amie Downs said via email that the University of Pittsburgh Police has more than 100 officers. Ross and Monroeville police departments are among the largest municipal departments, each with about 50 officers.

“We are the largest suburb outside of Pittsburgh, and it’s wonderful that we have a budget that can fund a large force,” Calabrese said. “We place a high priority on public safely we’re really proud of that.”

Penn Hills officials allocated about $10.72 million for police including administrative, patrol and investigative salaries, equipment, other supplies and crossing guards in the 2023 budget.

The budget was unanimously approved with no tax increase on Dec. 19.

Manager Scott Andrejchak said via email the police budget includes 57 officers. The base salary of a new officer is $36 per hour.

“Call volume, historical staffing levels, the range of police services provided in Penn Hills, and the (42,000) residents served gives ample support for a budget compliment of 57 officers,” Andrejchak said.

Como commended the recently hired officers and their progression.

“They all have shown great promise, and I’m excited to see their future,” he said.

Renko, who has been with the department more than 14 years, echoed the chief’s comments about the new recruits’ performance.

“I think we’re a pretty happy department so far right now,” he said.