Lloyd Suggests Ross for Appointment to Chief

Amid discussion of the content of , Mayor Tom Lloyd addressed a rumor about the vacant police chief position that has been circulating—that he suggested Sgt. Phil Ross be the one to fill it.

That’s true, Lloyd said, and he explained why he thought the former police chief—who was demoted to sergeant and then to patrolman this past summer—should be the one appointed to the position left vacant when .

“I made the suggestion because at the time, there were three sergeants that were sworn in on the same night,” Lloyd said. “How do you determine who’s the senior sergeant? They were sworn in at the same time.”

Since Ross already was being paid as a sergeant, Lloyd said he thought it made sense to appoint him to the position of chief. 

“I said, 'Since you’re already paying Ross, why not make him the chief?'" Lloyd said.

But not all members of council agreed with the decision.

A chain of emails sent between Dec. 15 and 17 that included several borough officials and employees began with an email from Marie Smith of the police department. The message announced that per Lloyd’s direction, Ross was to be acting chief until further notice.

In an email response to that message, Council President Kim Lusardi expressed her concern that Lloyd had overstepped his boundaries by making that decision, and that as per her statement at the December council meeting, Sgt. Ralf Zawischa—as the most senior sergeant—would be in charge.

Lloyd said council chose to go in another direction, possibly because of .

Zawischa was the most available senior sergeant earlier this month, Lloyd said, because the two other senior sergeants were on leave with injuries. Zawischa has been overseeing the department since Dwyer left.

Council is expected to vote during to appoint someone as officer in charge of the police department. Lloyd said others are being considered for the position and the person who fills it will be determined by council’s vote.

“It’s council’s determination when there’s a vacancy who is appointed,” Lloyd said.

Lusardi did not return a call Thursday evening.

Dormont Council will meet Friday, Dec. 30 at 8:30 a.m. The reorganization meeting will be Jan. 3 at 7 a.m. Both will be held in the .