Latrobe promotes 1 police officer, hires another, in advance of sergeant's retirement

Latrobe Council hired a new officer and promoted another to sergeant this week as it shored up the ranks of the city’s police force.

The new officer, Zachary Gustafson, is a graduate of Greater Latrobe Senior High and has six years of experience working with other area police departments, most recently in Blairsville, according to Latrobe police Chief John Sleasman.

Council also promoted Michael Wigand, a 20-year veteran of the Latrobe force, from detective to sergeant. During council’s Monday meeting, Wigand received his sergeant’s pin from his sons, Connor and Ethan, both 9.

A detective since 2018 and an acting sergeant since December, Wigand has been the department’s primary investigator for serious crimes, Sleasman said. Wigand is a field coordinator for the Westmoreland County Drug Task Force, on which he’s served for 15 years.

“He does a fantastic job for us, and I think he’s going to excel in his new position,” Sleasman said of Wigand.

Wigand was one of two Latrobe officers who sought the promotion and completed civil service testing for one of the the three sergeant positions on the force, according to city manager Michael Gray. Gray noted an officer must have at least five years of experience with the department to be eligible for the rank.

The hiring and promotion were proactive steps in anticipation of the pending retirement of Latrobe Sgt. Joe Angus. On medical leave, Angus, a 31-year veteran of the department, is not expected to return to active duty before retiring at the end of the year, according to Gray.

“He was a really great officer who was always an asset to the city,” Gray said of Angus. “He’ll be missed.”

It will cost Latrobe about $30,500 to employ Gustafson as an officer for the remainder of the year, according to Gray. But, he said, it would have cost the city an additional $15,000 in overtime pay to instead fill in with existing staff.

Gray said council opted to move forward with naming a successor to Angus as sergeant because, under the city’s police contract, it would have had to pay another officer the same rate to fill in for him on a given shift, representing about a 6% pay hike.

“During the absence of a sergeant on the shift, the next highest commanding officer is appointed (officer in charge) of the shift,” Gray said. “We’re still paying him the equivalent of a sergeant.”