GOP Allegheny County Executive candidate Joe Rockey picks up law enforcement endorsements

Allegheny County Executive candidate Joe Rockey said Thursday that, if elected, he would boost the number of county police, reopen a county juvenile detention center, and provide more oversight of the county jail.

Rockey, a Republican from Ohio Township, laid out those and other plans to address what he called rising crime in the Pittsburgh region as he picked up endorsements from three key law enforcement unions. He is facing Democrat Sara Innamorato, a former state representative from Lawrenceville, in November.

“For Allegheny County to thrive, it is imperative we are safe,” Rockey said at a news conference at a West Homestead union hall.

“I am grateful for (law enforcement’s) work to keep us safe, (and) I am fully committed to supporting the men and women who do the hard work of keeping us secure on our streets and in our homes,” said Rockey, a retired PNC Bank chief risk officer.

Two police unions — Fraternal Order of Police Lodge No. 1, which represents the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police’s 1,800 active and retired officers, and Fraternal Order of Police Lodge No. 91, representing 1,300 officers from more than 100 police departments in the county — endorsed Rockey on Thursday.

So did the Allegheny County Prison Employees Independent Union, which represents the county’s 400 corrections officers.

“Our endorsement doesn’t come lightly. We did a lot of research,” said Vincent DiCenzo Jr., president of FOP Lodge No. 91. “Crime in Allegheny County has been increasing. … It’s everywhere. And we need a county executive that’s going to stand for law enforcement.”

Former FOP Lodge No. 1 President Eugene G. Grattan Jr. called Rockey “a kind man, a straight-forward man and a God-fearing man.”

Coleman McDonough, who retired as county police superintendent in 2021, said that the county “faces a turning point in November” because of “failed liberal policies.”

Rockey, standing near a poster featuring badges from dozens of local police forces, took jabs at outgoing county Executive Rich Fitzgerald, a Squirrel Hill Democrat who is term-limited, and Innamorato. He said the county’s current leadership is “ignoring the tenets of good public safety.”

Rockey said Allegheny County Jail is understaffed and “broken,” and he criticized the move to shutter Shuman Juvenile Detention Center two years ago after it lost state accreditation. He said his public safety plan attempts to address both issues.

Rockey said he plans to boost county police ranks by 10%, or about 20 officers; reopen a juvenile detention center in Allegheny County; and be more active on the Jail Oversight Board, where a county employee often serves in place for Fitzgerald.

He pledged to staff a public safety task force with community members, law enforcement, representatives from the District Attorney’s Office and the families of crime victims.

He also defended those suffering from mental illness.

Douglas Bonomo, 59, of McKeesport, died Sunday in the county jail — the 12th inmate to die there in the past 30 months — while awaiting transfer to a Westmoreland County psychiatric facility, Rockey said. A total of 31 more inmates are awaiting transfer there. Rockey called that unacceptable.

Rockey pledged to improve mental health services for all county residents, including inmates. He said he would do so by collaborating with the county departments of health and human services.

He was less clear on his plans for Shuman Center.

Rockey told reporters after the news conference that he might push to reopen and “reimagine” the Shuman Center site, which operated for 46 years in Pittsburgh’s Lincoln-Lemington-Belmar neighborhood. But he said he was unsure whether he would pursue private funding, which Fitzgerald did by seeking bids from outside groups to open and operate the Shuman Center site.

Late Thursday night, Sam Wasserman, a spokesperson for Innamorato, released a response.

“Sara Innamorato has been leading the charge to take a comprehensive public health approach to public safety, where we fund proven strategies that recognize the many factors that influence criminal behavior. In April, Sara released her comprehensive Justice for All plan alongside criminal justice reform groups, formerly incarcerated individuals, elected officials, and community members.

“Sara Innamorato has a track record of working with the Pittsburgh Police on community-oriented implicit bias training and municipal police forces on the deployment of Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion (LEAD) via CONNECT.

“As County Executive, Sara will continue to work with our dedicated law enforcement officials and community members to ensure that everyone in Allegheny County is part of the conversation regarding how we build a safe, thriving region for all.

“The fact that months later a Republican is parroting these proposals proves that investing in our communities and the wrap-around support services they deserve are widely popular proposals.”