Pa. Police Officers Keep Watch over Fallen Chief

By Tawnya Panizzi

Source The Tribune-Review, Greensburg

Police officers from across Western Pennsylvania are keeping watch over Brackenridge, as the borough's own officers stand guard over their fallen chief.

At least one officer from Brackenridge has remained alongside Chief Justin McIntire's body since he was killed in the line of duty Monday.

"There has been at least one officer with him since, and there will be until he's laid to rest. They're not going to leave him," Mayor Lindsay Fraser said Wednesday.

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With borough officers on temporary leave, multiple law enforcement agencies — from as close as Tarentum and as far as Mt. Lebanon as well as state police — are keeping watch over the community.

"We are doing everything we can to make sure Brackenridge doesn't go underserved," Harrison police Chief Mike Klein said.

Police from various Allegheny County departments have been canvassing the neighborhood on foot.

"Police officers from all over Western Pa. have donated time and resources to work shifts for patrol and call response for the next seven days," Fraser said.

Coordination of coverage is being handled by Harrison, in cooperation with the county's emergency dispatch.

On Wednesday, Highlands School District Superintendent Monique Mawhinney sent a robocall to notify families that they will see police cars from various departments in the area, perhaps for several weeks.

"These departments are graciously picking up additional shifts to help the Brackenridge police department but will be driving the police vehicles from their departments," Mawhinney said.

Fraser said she is unsure of the breadth of coverage but that officers from as far as Collier were working the beat Wednesday.

"Not only are they covering shifts, they are also volunteering for casket watch," Fraser said. "Two of our guys went when they took the chief Monday night and stayed with him until the procession brought him back to the funeral home."

Brackenridge Council intends to meet Thursday as regularly scheduled, in large part to formalize a roster for the police department.

Fraser is the de facto head of the force in the chief's absence.

Council is scheduled to meet at 6 p.m. to discuss appointing Sgt. Mike Duffy as officer-in-charge.

There will be a vigil at 7 p.m. in Brackenridge Memorial Park to honor McIntire.

"Our chief was good and kind," Fraser said. "He was raised in this community and faithfully served as a police officer for 22 years. He loved Brackenridge, and we loved him.

"He was, and very much still is, a native son and a hometown hero, and we are heartbroken."

The borough now has a force of three full-time officers and one part-timer.

Fraser said she misses the days "when nobody knew about Brackenridge."

She said the gunman stole the borough's identity as a sleepy, boring hamlet.

Fraser grew up with McIntire and said most borough residents' lives intertwine at some point.

"His mom was my boss at my very first job. My mom was his teacher in high school. He was the quarterback of my high school football team," Fraser said.

After being elected as mayor in 2021, Fraser said McIntire helped ease her transition as a progressive leader in a town more aligned with days gone by.

Fraser teased McIntire for still using a typewriter.

"I told him that even though I was publicly and genuinely vexed by his insistence on using a typewriter that I secretly loved it," Fraser said. "We both thought it added to the charm of our town.

"He was the chief of our boring little borough, and we liked it how it was. Our town and our hearts will never be the same."

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