Brackenridge officers back on patrol after chief Justin McIntire's homicide
BRACKENRIDGE, Pa. (KDKA) - For the first time since the homicide of Brackenridge Police Chief Justin McIntire, his fellow officers will patrol the community again.
KDKA's Meghan Schiller talked one-on-one with the borough's Mayor Lindsay Fraser about why she's keeping the community posted about police coverage.
Fraser said she wants an open line of communication with her community. That's why she posted to Facebook to let everyone know the department will get some help for the foreseeable future.
Brackenridge police officers hit the streets again Monday, nearly two weeks after laying McIntire to rest.
Officers from neighboring communities kept Brackenridge safe while the three remaining officers took time to grieve.
"Between his death of Jan. 2 and the 11th, we had coverage from many municipal police departments that were donating their shifts, and then from the funeral until now, the state police have been in town covering our calls and they've done a great job," Fraser said.
But Fraser says state troopers will stick around, at least on the weekends. That's why she posted an update on Facebook about police coverage.
"We are a small department. We are a community police department and so the residents were worried about our officers as people and were looking forward to seeing them back on patrol," she said.
The department's three full-time police officers will cover the weekdays and state troopers will step in on Friday at 10 p.m., covering Brackenridge free of charge until Sunday night at 10 p.m.
It's something residents like Cody Hubert appreciate.
"I feel more safer knowing there will be cops out and it makes it feel a lot safer knowing they have your back," said resident Cody Hubert.
While some places use state police for 24/7 coverage, Fraser doesn't plan on needing the coverage for long.
"I think there are three municipalities in Allegheny County that rely on the state police full-time as their police coverage. That is certainly not the case in Brackenridge and of course that is not what we are looking at."
She says the borough had just worked into the 2023 budget money to pay a fifth full-time officer, so now they're looking to hire two full-timers and another part-timer. They hope those officers come from the community.
"We really value community police presence and people that we know who are local to the area, live here, work here and that they are our neighbors," she said.
As far as the mental health resources for those officers returning to work today, Fraser says the Tarentum chief handled that in conjunction with the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police and made sure all of the resources in the area were available to those officers now and going forward.
