2nd T-shirt sale set for fallen Brackenridge chief; organizers say support has 'surpassed expectation'

Anyone who missed the chance to buy a memorial T-shirt for fallen Brackenridge police Chief Justin McIntire will have another chance next week.

Considering the merchandise at the first sale Jan. 14 sold out in 25 minutes, lines are expected to be long, organizer Shasta Biricocchi said.

More than 4,000 shirts have been preordered and will be available for pickup.

Another 2,800 will be for sale, along with items such as wristbands ($5) and decals ($10).

Shirts in sizes small through extra large will sell for $15. Larger sizes, 2XL to 4XL, will be available for $18.

The sale will be from 5 to 8 p.m. Wednesday at the Brackenridge American Legion, 845 First Ave.

Tarentum Manager Dwight Boddorf attended the first sale at the Tarentum police station on Second Avenue.

“It started at 9 a.m., and there were people here at 6:30,” Boddorf said.

The line stretched around the building and for blocks toward the Tarentum Bridge, he said.

McIntire, 46, was gunned down Jan. 2 off Third Avenue in Brackenridge after a dayslong manhunt for suspect Aaron Lamont Swan Jr., 28, of Duquesne. Swan was later shot and killed by police in Pittsburgh’s Homewood-Brushton neighborhood.

Tarentum Officer Jordan Schrecengost also was wounded in the pursuit.

The community has rallied behind the fallen chief, with thousands showing up to honor him at his funeral last week.

“Seeing the line the first day of sales, down to the bridge, was amazing,” Biricocchi said. “Knowing that everyone was waiting in the cold for an extended period of time just proved how great this community really is.”

Biricocchi comes from a law enforcement family and is all too familiar with organizing fundraisers for line-of-duty police deaths. She runs the K9 Officer Derek Kotecki Memorial Scholarship Fund, which distributes money to high school seniors in the Burrell, Valley and Kiski Area communities.

Kotecki, a Lower Burrell officer, was killed in a 2011 ambush.

Biricocchi also organized the first shirt fundraiser in honor of New Kensington Officer Brian Shaw, who was fatally shot during a traffic stop in 2017.

“It is difficult to plan for something like this,” Biricocchi said. “We knew the interest was high, however the sale surpassed our expectations tremendously. The volunteers, officers and family are beyond grateful for everyone’s support.”