Salutes, not sobs: Concert honoring Brackenridge Chief McIntire benefits several Alle-Kiski Valley departments

Loni Hutchens choked up remembering how her knees buckled when she heard that Brackenridge police Chief Justin McIntire was gunned down.

Kim and Dale Davis explained that whenever an officer is shot, they agonize over whether it’s in Pittsburgh, where their son patrols on the midnight shift.

And Lisa Ingle said that she yearns for the day when there’s no need for yet another T-shirt commemorating a cop killed in the line of duty.

All of them joined an estimated 700 more supporters Saturday at the AK Valley Park Event Center in New Kensington for a daylong concert to generate money for police departments in the Valley.

Ingle, 52, of New Kensington staffed a sign-up sheet for novelty items to be auctioned off. Tables next to her were piled with merchandise bearing McIntire’s name.

“Hopefully we don’t ever have to print anymore,” Ingle said.

The festivities could have stirred up tears and sadness, so fresh was the community pain from the death of Brackenridge’s top cop, fatally shot Jan. 2 as he sought a fugitive.

But, said one of the concert organizers, the intent was, at least for a day, to salute rather than sob.

“We agreed that today we’re going to celebrate their lives,” Ron Balla, co-founder of AK Valley Back the Blue, said as he stood in the parking lot, vehicles rolling past. “We honor them, and we’re going to celebrate them.”

Balla estimated that the Back the Blue group, which he said is not registered with the IRS as a nonprofit, has raised $25,000 during three prior events. He said the money previously went to police departments in Arnold, New Kensington, Upper Burrell and Lower Burrell as well as to a foundation called Tunnels to Towers that helps first responders and military veterans.

They’ve now added Brackenridge to the list.

He said the departments have used the money for a range of expenses involving police dogs, cruisers and station houses.

Balla said Saturday’s concert raised $10,000 for AK Valley Back the Blue, in addition to $1,100 for the McKeesport Police Department.

By day, Balla, 51, is the assistant distribution supervisor for the Municipal Authority of the City of New Kensington. But 24/7, the former constable is the father of a police officer.

His son, Tyler, 26, is a rookie with the New Kensington department working steady midnights. The Ballas are friendly with the family of Brian Shaw, a New Kensington police officer who was also a rookie when he was fatally shot in 2017 during a traffic stop.

Balla said he feels like the next generation of officers is “carrying the torch” for those killed in the line of duty. Asked about his concern for his son in light of the deaths of McIntire and Sean Sluganski, the McKeesport officer killed Feb. 6 while responding to a domestic dispute, Balla said he has faith.

“I believe in the people he serves with, and I believe in his training.”

The Davises, parents of Pittsburgh police Officer Ryan Davis, said it was important for them to attend the fundraiser and show their support.

“You worry all the time,” said Kim Davis, 62, a payroll administrator from North Huntingdon. “It’s hard. We try not to think about it.”

When McIntire was killed, an upcoming fundraiser had already been planned for June 24 at Mogie’s Irish Pub in Lower Burrell. But the shooting spurred Balla and his committee to do more.

They enticed eight bands, planned fireworks, got a food truck and then invited the community for $10 apiece for the event, scheduled for 2 p.m. to 10 p.m. Balla said he hoped the gathering provided a way for people unsure what to do or how to help to channel their charitable impulses.

Only an hour in, and there were already at least 100 people sitting at banquet tables or standing along the walls listening to music. Balla hoped for 600 to 700 by day’s end.

There was a 50-50 raffle, T-shirts and hoodies with McIntire’s name on them put out for sale and items offered for auction, including artwork of Pittsburgh sports icons, a wooden thin-blue-line flag and a rocking chair with upholstery sporting silver and gold badges and the word “police.”

Holding a beer as he waited for a new band to take the stage, James Aldis wore a black T-shirt that bore the name of Derek Kotecki, the Lower Burrell patrolman killed in an ambush in 2011.

“I back the blue for sure, all the first responders,” said Aldis, 58, of New Kensington. The short-haul trucker said police officers have always helped him. He showed up to return the favor.

Brandy Kight of Butler said she has a brother who is a police officer.

“They’re called from a higher power to serve and protect,” said Kight, 45. “Every single stop they make, it could be simple or turn life-threatening in the blink of an eye.”

Heather Connor, toting a blue-and-white cooler loaded with Michelob Ultras as she headed into the venue, summed up the spirit that knits the Alle-Kiski Valley together.

“We like to support anything that has to do with the community, helps the police,” said Connor, 50, of Allegheny Township.

Reflecting on the deaths of McIntire and Sluganski, Connor said, “With two so close together, obviously that has been — there’s just not words anymore. It’s nice to see the community come out for the police officers.”

Taking a smoke break outside, Hutchens felt the same. Her husband coached youth football in the same organization as McIntire, she said. And her husband’s sister babysat the future chief. It was McIntire who showed up at her house several years ago when a car ran into it. There were also lots of good memories, she said.

Hutchens, 57, of Tarentum said she was listening to the police radio Jan. 2 when the events played out ending with McIntire’s death and the wounding of Tarentum police Officer Jordan Schrecengost.

“When I learned it was Justin, I fell to my knees,” Hutchens said. “It’s totally horrible. Devastating.”

Now the police chief’s name is everywhere — on clothing, on websites and on a giant banner hung up in the concert hall.

“Remember Our Heroes,” the banner read.

Below that were a trio of badge numbers and three names: Kotecki, Shaw — and McIntire, the newest addition.