By Paul Paterra
Greensburg Tribune-Review
JEANETTE, Pa. — Chief Brad Shepler vows to involve his colleagues in the operation of the Jeannette Police Department.
Shepler, a 22-year veteran of the department, was sworn in as chief yesterday morning by Mayor Robert Carter in front of many of those officers.
“I’m pretty happy to be given the opportunity to be in charge of the department,” said Shepler, who had held the rank of corporal. “We have a lot of law enforcement experience here; a lot of the guys have more than 20 years plus. I think we need to expand on that and use the experience they have, their ideas, their thoughts on things instead of just my way.”
Shepler said he will focus on the city’s fight against drugs.
“I’ve been preparing for this all my life with college, the police academy and everything. I feel pretty privileged to have the opportunity,” Shepler said. “We have things in place. Guys are ready to go. You’re going to see a big difference this summer.”
Shepler, 45, replaces Jeff Stahl, who had been chief since November 2003.
Stahl was demoted to patrolman last week on the heels of a four-month evaluation of the department by the mayor, who said Stahl would be more valuable as a patrolman. In a third-class city such as Jeannette, the mayor has the authority to appoint the police chief. Carter said yesterday he feels Shepler is the right man to lead the 13-member department.
“I’ve watched every one of these officers being hired. I’ve watched their performance, how they handled themselves as officers and how they’ve treated the citizens,” Carter said. “He has the leadership qualities to move the police department forward.”
Carter said he will meet with Shepler to discuss the department.
“I like to utilize all the personnel in the department to their strongest strengths,” Carter said. “I want them to be the best officers they can possibly be. The department has a good opportunity to head in that direction. We need to work together as one complete team.
“There will probably be some other changes. After we discuss what we want to do, we’ll go from there,” he said.
A lawsuit Shepler filed against the city and various officials concerning Jeannette’s residency requirement is still pending. Shepler said that will have no effect on his new position.
“That has nothing to do with what’s going on,” he said. “Those are things that happened in the past. We’re moving on now.”
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