Fellow sportsmen remember late Chief Justin McIntire with donation to help other officers

Fallen Brackenridge police Chief Justin McIntire loved to spend his downtime hunting and fishing with friends.

As a member of the South Buffalo Township Recreation Association, the avid outdoorsman spent many hours at the clubhouse, lakes and rifle range, fishing for trout and trap shooting.

His fellow members are memorializing his time at the club with a donation to the Allegheny-Kiski Health Foundation in Harrison, where a fund will be established to help local police.

“We try to help out where we can,” said club board member Carlton Crowe of Harrison.

“When Justin was shot, it wasn’t a week that went by that we brought it up. He and his brother both belonged here, and we knew his dad, too. When you’re a member, you’re whole family belongs.”

Members donated $5,000 to the foundation, which President John Pastorek said will establish the Justin McIntire Memorial Police Safety Fund.

The hope is to grow the fund enough to one day help not just Tarentum but other departments nearby.

“The fund’s purpose is to generate enough money annually, through additional donations from the community and investment income, to provide a wide range of policing needs that are not covered in the regular police budget,” Pastorek said.

Expenses could be related to officer safety, technology, training and education.

Tarentum Mayor Bob Lang said the borough thanks the group and appreciates the support.

In the wake of McIntire’s death last year, Tarentum and Brackenridge voted to consolidate police forces. The move provided efficiency and helped maintain community-oriented policing that residents in both towns were used to.

“We are thankful for the unwavering support to the community and our police department,” Lang said.

Crowe said he hopes the fund grows adequately in the coming years to expand assistance to Harrison police.

A club member for 20 years, Crowe said the donation is a way to honor McIntire and help other officers protect and serve.

The recreation association was started in the 1950s by doctors, lawyers and other professionals who purchased the property along McNeil Road and transformed it into a sporting oasis.

Members stock the grounds with pheasant for hunting and the lakes with trout. They host a kid’s fishing tournament every spring.

“The guys cook the kids breakfast and let them go out and fish,” Crowe said.

He hopes to offer a similar outing for Tarentum police, where officers could attend with their families and spend the day relaxing by the lake.

“They could use the rifle range and just have a good time with nobody bothering them,” Crowe said.