Brackenridge police returned to the job Sunday, nearly three weeks after Chief Justin McIntire was shot and killed during a pursuit.

In the days following his death, police from across the region volunteered to cover patrols so borough officers could grieve.

Limited manpower in the borough will require continued assistance from state police, Mayor Lindsay Fraser said.

“Before we lost Chief McIntire, we were operating with four full-time officers who worked long hours to provide our community with 24-hour local police coverage,” Fraser wrote in a social media post.

“We cannot offer 24-hour coverage seven days per week with only three full-time officers.”

The borough also lost its part-time officer, Theodore Bajack, when he resigned Jan. 1.

While council works on a long-term solution, borough officers will cover shifts from Sunday through Friday nights.

State police will patrol the borough from 10 p.m. Fridays to 10 p.m. Sundays. There is no cost to the borough for the service.

At the regular council meeting Jan. 5, members appointed longtime Sgt. Mike Duffy as officer in charge. There were no details or timeline released on how the search for a new chief would be conducted. Council is scheduled to meet next at 6 p.m. Feb. 2.

At least one resident would like to see the borough expedite the hiring of additional police.

Tom Pendergast said it’s not the lack of protection that worries him. Rather, he is concerned about the pressure on three borough officers who are without backup staffing.

“(Harrison, Tarentum and Brackenridge) do a great job of covering each other in the field,” he said. “What I am concerned about is officers working under the pressure of having nobody to cover a personal or sick day. Nobody should have to do that, in any field.”

Despite a limited budget, money should not be an issue in paying for additional police thanks to a $75,000 donation of state money by Rep. Mandy Steele.

Steele notified the borough of the donation just days after McIntire’s death. She said it is to be used at council’s discretion for the police department.

“I was able to secure the funding to help ease them through this difficult time,” Steele said. “These are small things in the face of such incredible loss, but I hope they can help make the path forward a little easier for the community.”

The donation amounts to about 15% of the borough’s $490,000 police budget.

Fraser said she is grateful to the state police for working with borough officials while a solution is determined.

“Continued gratitude to everyone for showing their support to and in our little community,” she said. “I hope that we continue to hold each other, and ourselves, in a spirit of grace and teamwork.”

Copyright ©2025— Trib Total Media, LLC (TribLIVE.com)