'I'm Coming Back': Pittsburgh Police Chief Nominee Returns to Roots

By Megan Guza

Source Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Mayor-elect Corey O'Connor on Thursday officially nominated Pittsburgh native and longtime Pittsburgh officer and commander Jason Lando to be the next police chief.

Mr. O'Connor introduced Chief Lando, 48, at a news conference in his Downtown campaign office, calling him "the kind of leader we need." He has been chief of police in Frederick, Md., since 2021. His last working day there will be early next month.

"He is respected throughout the bureau for his services as an officer, up through the ranks to commander," Mr. O'Connor said. "He understands there's a human element in emergencies on all sides and develops effective programs to support our officers and the community. Who better to lead Pittsburgh's effective community-based policing model than someone who helped create it?"

Chief Lando was among the finalists that came out of a nationwide police chief search commissioned by Mayor Ed Gainey's administration during his first year in office. The nearly yearlong process yielded three finalists, including Chief Lando, though the job ultimately went to Larry Scirotto, another former Pittsburgh police officer.

Mr. Scirotto resigned after less than two years on the job, and he was the only non-acting police chief the city has seen since longtime chief Scott Schubert retired in July 2022.

Asked about his commitment to the city, Chief Lando said he is in it for the long haul — few things could have drawn him out of the career and department he'd built in Maryland, and this opportunity was one of them.

"Leaving there was not easy — it's not going to be easy to leave that group of officers, and there's only one reason I'm doing it: That's because Pittsburgh is my home," he said. "I'm coming back, and I'm in it for the long haul."

Indeed, he told Frederick officers in a department-wide email Wednesday that his decision "has nothing to do with a lack of love for this agency nor a desire to leave Frederick." Rather, he said, it was an opportunity "to give back to the department and city where my police career began."

He said he hopes to take the work that he did as a longtime commander in Zone 5, much of which focused on strengthening relationships between the communities and police in a meaningful way. Those types of relationships, he said, are "the only way we're going to be successful as a police department.

"We really changed ... the culture, and we changed the way we did business out in Zone 5," he said. "Now we're going to do that citywide."

Zinna Scott worked with Chief Lando on the Zone 5 Public Safety Council. She said in a statement Thursday that she was pleased by the news that he would be returning to Pittsburgh, and she pointed to his work in Zone 5 as an example of what he could do for the city as a whole.

"I watched the officers under Jason's watch become more attentive and respectful to the African American populations, as well as the other populations in Zone 5," she said, noting that she's kept up with the work he's done in Maryland.

"I will be waiting and hoping that he is able to implement many of those programs in our city," Ms. Scott said. "We deserve them."

City councilmember Bob Charland, whose district includes the city's oft-raucous East Carson Street, praised Mr. O'Connor's announcement as one that "reflects the urgency of establishing stability" at helm of the police bureau.

" Chief Lando brings deep connections with both Pittsburgh residents and Pittsburgh officers," he said in a statement, "along with a clear commitment to co-response and alternative response."

Chief Lando must be approved by city council. In an email to his officers in Maryland, he said his last day there will be Dec. 5.

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