[0:16] It's all here.

[0:17] Kevin Haynes is not here. Dr. Jeffrey

[0:21] Present.

[0:22] I'm here. Angela Sterling Present.

[0:26] Solicitor Garvin is not here. Solicitor

[0:28] Kieran is not here.

[0:31] Um before we get into our business for

[0:33] the evening,

[0:35] this is a special occasion.

[0:38] Um this is the last meeting with Chief

[0:42] Watson. So we have a few things we'd

[0:46] like to do to celebrate that.

[0:48] Um

[0:49] Aaron from Representative Salisbury's

[0:52] office, you are up first.

[1:01] Whereas Chief Ellis Watson has dedicated

[1:03] more than 25 years to municipal law

[1:05] enforcement including over 15 years in

[1:07] executive leadership and 7 years as

[1:09] Chief of Police earning the respect of

[1:11] colleagues, elected officials, and the

[1:13] communities he serves. And whereas

[1:15] throughout Chief Ellis Watson's career

[1:17] he has served as patrol officer, patrol

[1:19] sergeant, assistant chief, and chief of

[1:21] police demonstrating a leadership

[1:23] philosophy grounded in accountability,

[1:25] professionalism, and modern

[1:27] community-focused policing principles

[1:29] that balance enforcement with compassion

[1:31] and engagement. And whereas as Chief of

[1:33] Police Swissvale Police Department Chief

[1:35] Ellis Watson led department operations,

[1:37] achieved accreditation, secured more

[1:39] than $400,000

[1:41] in grant funding, oversaw the

[1:43] construction of a new police facility,

[1:44] and promoted community initiatives that

[1:46] strengthened public trust.

[1:48] And now therefore be it resolved that on

[1:51] behalf of Representative Abigail

[1:52] Salisbury, State Representative of the

[1:54] 34th District, joined with members of

[1:56] the community to commend and honor Chief

[1:59] Ellis Watson for a lifetime of

[2:01] distinguished civic leadership and to

[2:02] extend our profound appreciation for his

[2:05] invaluable contributions to the public

[2:07] good and the lasting positive impact he

[2:09] has made on the safety and well-being of

[2:11] the communities he serves. And directed

[2:13] a copy of the citation sponsored by

[2:16] Representative Abigail Salisbury be

[2:17] transmitted transmitted to Chief Watson

[2:20] in recognition of his lifetime of

[2:23] accomplishments and eager anticipation

[2:25] of his future endeavors.

[2:59] I think the council is Well well you are

[3:00] up next.

[3:04] Whereas

[3:06] Chief Ellis Watson has dedicated more

[3:07] than 25 years to municipal law

[3:09] enforcement including more than 15 years

[3:11] in executive leadership and 7 years as

[3:13] Chief of Police earning the respect of

[3:15] fellow officers, elected officials, and

[3:18] the communities he has faithfully

[3:20] served. His leadership philosophy is

[3:22] grounded in accountability,

[3:23] professionalism, and a firm belief in

[3:25] 21st century policing principles that

[3:28] balance enforcement with compassion and

[3:30] engagement. And whereas after serving as

[3:33] patrol officer, patrol sergeant, and

[3:34] assistant chief of police, Chief Watson

[3:37] was appointed Chief of Police of the

[3:38] Swissvale Department in 2018 where he

[3:41] led all aspects of department operations

[3:43] including field services and

[3:45] administrative oversight. He

[3:47] successfully guided the department

[3:48] through PLEAC accreditation, secured

[3:52] more than $400,000 in grant funding, and

[3:54] oversaw the construction of a new police

[3:56] facility investments that have

[3:58] strengthened both the infrastructure and

[4:00] public confidence. And whereas Chief

[4:02] Watson has demonstrated leadership

[4:04] beyond his department by serving as

[4:05] assistant commander for 202024

[4:08] presidential campaign visit representing

[4:11] the department on a

[4:12] District Attorney Stephen Scholl's ALPR

[4:16] committee and serving as the third vice

[4:17] president of the Allegheny County Chiefs

[4:19] of Police Association. And whereas his

[4:22] commitment to community policing is

[4:23] reflected in initiatives such as the

[4:26] department's annual toy drive which has

[4:28] just distributed more than 4,000 gifts

[4:30] to local families reinforcing the belief

[4:33] that effective policing is built on

[4:34] trust, service, and compassion. And

[4:37] whereas in 2026 Chief Watson was

[4:40] appointed Chief of Police of the

[4:41] Swissvale Braddock Hills Regional Police

[4:44] Department where he then served as Chief

[4:47] Executive Officer overseeing a $3.3

[4:49] million

[4:50] budget and more than 20 sworn sworn and

[4:53] civilian personnel across two

[4:54] municipalities.

[4:56] In this role

[4:58] he focused on strategic planning, fiscal

[5:00] responsibility, officer development, and

[5:02] strengthening community partnerships.

[5:05] And whereas throughout his career Chief

[5:07] Watson has worked collaboratively with

[5:09] federal, state, and county law

[5:11] enforcement agencies on major

[5:12] investigations and regional task forces.

[5:15] And as an Act 120 certified officer with

[5:18] both advanced executive leadership

[5:20] training, he brings both operational

[5:22] expertise and forward-thinking

[5:24] leadership to his profession. And

[5:26] whereas for Chief Watson policing has

[5:28] always been about people first. His

[5:30] decades of service reflect a deep

[5:32] commitment to ensuring that the

[5:33] communities he serves remain safe,

[5:36] supported, and proud of the police

[5:38] department. Now therefore be it resolved

[5:40] that we Allegheny County Council members

[5:43] Michelle McMurray Chaplin and William

[5:45] Watson do hereby uh congratulate,

[5:48] recognize, and commend Chief Ellis

[5:49] Watson for his distinguished career with

[5:52] Swissvale Braddock Hills Regional Police

[5:54] Department, his leadership within the

[5:56] Swissvale Braddock Hills,

[5:58] and its surrounding communities, and his

[6:00] ongoing dedication to public safety and

[6:01] community partnership throughout

[6:03] Allegheny County. And witness thereof we

[6:05] have we have hereunto caused the seal of

[6:08] the county county of Allegheny to be affixed this 9th day of March

[6:13] 2026. Congratulations on your

[6:16] retirement.

[6:23] Yeah, I'm a little taller.

[6:27] Thank you, sir. Thank you.

[6:30] And one more, we are going to need

[6:32] sports better.

[6:35] So I'm not getting mushy this time.

[6:39] Here's a plaque for you from with our

[6:43] appreciation for your dedicated service

[6:45] to the Swissvale Police Department and

[6:47] the Swissvale Braddock Hills Regional

[6:48] Police Department.

[6:51] Thank you.

[7:04] very much.

[7:07] And

[7:08] uh as one of your final acts, can I get

[7:10] a packet? Absolutely.

[7:14] I'll give you a couple cuz I'll give you

[7:15] the old ones, too. Thank you.

[7:17] Nice.

[7:19] All right. On to the regular business.

[7:23] Uh we have a motion to approve minutes

[7:24] from the February 9th, 2026 meeting.

[7:27] Second. Second.

[7:30] All eyes? Aye. Aye. Any opposed?

[7:34] All right, motion passes.

[7:36] Uh motion to appoint Sergeant Dave

[7:39] Zacchia as interim police chief for the

[7:41] police department.

[7:43] Second.

[7:44] >> Second.

[7:45] I'll move that.

[7:47] Thank you.

[7:49] And then somebody can second. All right,

[7:51] any discussion?

[7:53] No.

[7:54] All eyes?

[7:55] Aye. Aye. Aye.

[7:57] Any opposed?

[7:59] No. Motion carries.

[8:03] Motion to approve agreement with

[8:05] Sergeant Zacchia for wage while interim

[8:08] police chief.

[8:09] So a motion on that? I'll make that

[8:11] motion. Thank you. Second?

[8:13] >> Second.

[8:14] All right.

[8:15] All eyes? Aye. Aye. Any opposed?

[8:19] Great, motion carries.

[8:22] Uh

[8:23] a motion to approve separation agreement

[8:25] for Chief Watson. I'll make that motion.

[8:28] Second.

[8:29] All right, any discussion? Yeah, have we

[8:32] seen this?

[8:34] There

[8:35] we do need to discuss this. We had in

[8:37] our executive session we did have some

[8:40] discussion about this. From what I

[8:41] understand, there is an edit. I talked

[8:44] to Kevin. It's no worries. No, okay. Um

[8:49] Do we have a copy of it? I actually

[8:52] don't know.

[8:54] I mean I have you, Angela, Maureen, or

[8:57] Shay seen this document at all?

[8:59] The actual agreement?

[9:01] >> Yeah. No. Yeah. I mean we can pass it

[9:03] around, but I I mean I

[9:05] don't know that it's

[9:07] wise to vote on this if this is the

[9:08] first time they're seeing this. I know

[9:09] we had some conversation in in executive

[9:11] session. Um actually it wasn't executive

[9:14] cuz there were just a few of us to talk

[9:16] about the Swissvale side of things as

[9:17] well as the Braddock Hills or the the um

[9:20] the regional police department side, but

[9:22] I mean I'd like to have

[9:25] we proposed some edits on that that was

[9:27] supposed to go back between I don't know

[9:29] if it was

[9:30] Mr. Haynes or Mr. Bachi and

[9:32] Chief Watson.

[9:35] Yes. Yeah, but again I haven't I haven't

[9:36] seen any of that.

[9:40] So

[9:43] how would we like to proceed with this?

[9:47] Maybe table? Yeah, let's table. Yeah.

[9:51] I'll get a motion to table it.

[9:53] I'll motion. Okay, second? Second. All

[9:55] right, any further discussion?

[9:59] I mean, I would suggest that

[10:01] um in the meantime because this I mean,

[10:04] in some sense the difficulty in tabbing

[10:06] this is it is

[10:08] time-bound. It is time-bound. Um but I I

[10:10] think that that's the the wise decision.

[10:12] I think in the meantime until the next

[10:14] meeting um

[10:15] I mean, there is clearly plenty of

[10:17] benefits that are offered to

[10:19] Chief Watson that can can can begin to

[10:21] be processed as as such. Um

[10:25] But yeah, I mean, again, I I I I think

[10:27] that we needed to have this form this in

[10:30] our hands like the final copy prior to

[10:32] the meeting in January.

[10:33] >> Um what I will probably suggest is that

[10:37] we schedule ourselves another executive

[10:39] session um sometime between now and our

[10:41] next regular meeting

[10:42] >> That's fine. to handle this, but we can

[10:44] table it for now.

[10:44] >> Yeah, maybe we can we can approve that

[10:46] in executive session cuz I think that

[10:47] would fall under personnel and then we

[10:49] can ratify it

[10:50] uh at our next meeting. That way we're not delayed by a whole month to to

[10:54] you know, leave Chief waiting on

[10:56] confirmation of that. Okay.

[10:59] Um

[11:00] in the next motion, speaking of things

[11:02] >> voted on tabbing it.

[11:03] >> You are correct. I'm sorry. Sorry, I

[11:05] didn't mean to interrupt your side of

[11:06] the agenda.

[11:08] We did have a second on that, correct?

[11:10] >> Yes. Okay. Uh all eyes?

[11:13] >> Any opposed?

[11:15] No? Okay. Motion is tabled. Um this came

[11:20] into my email late today. I will email

[11:22] it out to everyone, but I have copies if

[11:25] you would like to pass them around. This

[11:26] is the contract for the uh police chief

[11:31] search that we discussed in our

[11:32] executive session as well as a timeline.

[11:35] Um I think everyone's going to look at

[11:37] it now, but that is our next motion.

[11:42] So, we have a motion to approve the

[11:43] contract for the chief search.

[11:46] Would anyone care to make that motion?

[11:49] Um

[11:50] were there any edits at all? Um

[11:53] there were not. There were

[11:55] >> There were a few questions. and I sent

[11:57] those answers out. Yeah. But nothing to

[11:58] the document.

[11:59] >> No, that didn't actually change any of

[12:00] the document at all.

[12:07] Do we have a motion?

[12:09] I'll make it.

[12:11] I'll motion it. Okay.

[12:15] Second?

[12:18] I'll second it. Okay. Thank you.

[12:20] Any further discussion on this?

[12:24] Okay.

[12:25] I mean, that's the first thing our mayor

[12:27] did was

[12:28] new police chief. I don't want to do

[12:29] anything but it's kind of important to

[12:31] get the ball rolling. Oh yeah,

[12:32] absolutely. Yeah, we need to Yeah,

[12:34] absolutely. Yeah. I mean, we did have

[12:35] this document prior. Right.

[12:38] >> Um Right.

[12:39] It's it's just simply the official

[12:40] contract

[12:41] and a time proposed timeline.

[12:45] Have we had um

[12:48] a solicitor look over it? We have not.

[12:51] So, I would Can I I would like to amend

[12:55] the motion? I'd like I make a motion to

[12:56] amend the motion to

[12:58] uh approve contract for chief search

[13:01] pending approval by

[13:04] one of the solicitors. one of the

[13:05] solicitors.

[13:14] I'll second that amendment. Okay. I just

[13:17] think again, we we all had a chance to

[13:19] look at this um

[13:21] but I'm also not a legal expert and I

[13:22] think it might be beneficial to just

[13:25] make sure that there's

[13:27] someone has their eyes on it. Okay.

[13:31] So, I believe that's the current motion

[13:33] to amend the motion to approve

[13:35] >> I don't want to Yeah, sorry. approve the

[13:37] contract

[13:39] provided that it is approved by one of

[13:41] our solicitors.

[13:43] We have a second.

[13:44] All in favor?

[13:46] All right. All right. Any opposed?

[13:48] No? Okay.

[13:50] Amended motion passes. Well, hold hold

[13:53] on.

[13:54] Is no one here a solicitor, right? I

[13:55] think we just voted to amend the

[13:58] motion. We haven't actually approved the

[13:59] motion yet.

[14:02] I'm pretty sure that by

[14:03] >> Not being Not being an expert on how

[14:05] this works.

[14:05] >> I know. This is

[14:07] We need a solicitor. Do we need to do it

[14:08] Get Thank you. Yes.

[14:10] >> Um

[14:12] he's correct.

[14:13] >> Okay.

[14:13] >> Um you amend you vote to amend the

[14:16] motion and then pending the approval of

[14:18] the amended motion then We need then you

[14:20] vote to We need a solicitor.

[14:22] The amended motion is what's now on the

[14:23] table.

[14:23] >> Okay.

[14:24] Thank you for

[14:28] This is why I'm sad that Kevin's not

[14:30] here

[14:31] >> I'm so sorry. It's all right. Um so,

[14:34] would we like to approve the motion?

[14:36] >> take the course in Robert's Rules? I You

[14:38] know what? I didn't.

[14:39] Yeah.

[14:40] Not yet. I've been a little busy.

[14:43] Um all right. So, the motion

[14:46] is that we are approving the contract

[14:49] provided that a solicitor approves it. I

[14:52] don't know if others have thoughts on I

[14:54] mean, I want to make sure everyone has a

[14:55] chance to vote.

[14:56] >> That's fine.

[14:57] Okay. Quick question.

[14:59] >> Yeah. Um have we gotten a contract like

[15:02] this before? Is that the normal practice

[15:05] to have it reviewed?

[15:07] Yes.

[15:08] That is Whenever we get a contract that

[15:11] we Yes, always reviewed by a solicitor.

[15:13] Okay.

[15:14] Like even when I get memorandums or

[15:16] understanding of the school districts,

[15:18] they're reviewed by a solicitor prior to

[15:20] that.

[15:20] >> Okay.

[15:21] Thank you for that. Any further

[15:23] discussion on this?

[15:25] Yeah. All right. Did we have a second on

[15:28] the motion?

[15:30] I think I think it's on the table. It

[15:32] just It just replaces. So, it's already

[15:34] >> Okay. Yeah. We're we're good.

[15:35] >> So, then we're good. All right. So, all

[15:38] in favor? All right. All right. Yay.

[15:41] Any opposed?

[15:43] No? All right. The amended motion

[15:45] passes.

[15:48] Uh

[15:49] motion to pay bills in the amount of

[15:59] $101,700.75

[16:08] for the month of February 2026.

[16:14] Have a motion for that? I'll make that

[16:16] motion. Thank you. Second? Second.

[16:19] Can we just have one question of

[16:21] discussion? Sure. Um so, I I don't know

[16:23] if Mr. Shaw, you know, I mean, on this

[16:25] bill list that we see, it goes through

[16:27] March uh 9th. Yeah, it goes up to today

[16:30] cuz we did bills today. So, Okay. I

[16:33] don't I don't know if you're okay with

[16:34] it, but what I do is from

[16:37] the day after the last meeting to this

[16:41] meeting cuz I'm always usually doing

[16:43] bills this meeting. So, it's actually

[16:46] for meeting to meeting. Okay.

[16:49] My suggestion would just be that in the

[16:51] minutes we reference that that we're approving bills from, you know,

[16:54] February 13th to March 9th. Just because

[16:57] I mean, the way the motion reads, it

[16:59] says February 2026 and we're approving

[17:01] bills that are outside of that purview.

[17:03] Again, I don't know if I'm being overly

[17:05] No, well, no, cuz it Yeah, I I only do

[17:07] that because if we do

[17:10] bills after the last meeting or before,

[17:14] but it doesn't reflect that.

[17:15] >> Yeah. So, we can Yeah, we'll update the

[17:17] agenda to reflect that. Yeah, that would

[17:19] be helpful.

[17:20] >> you want to amend the motion?

[17:20] >> Yeah, that's what I was going to do

[17:22] next. Oh yeah, we're learning. We're

[17:23] learning.

[17:25] Do you do you want to make that

[17:26] amendment?

[17:28] Amend the motion to bills paid

[17:31] from February

[17:35] 13th to um March 3rd No, sorry, March

[17:38] 9th.

[17:40] in the amount of $101,775.

[17:46] I second that. All right.

[17:49] Any further discussion on that?

[17:51] A question. The police consulting

[17:53] services,

[17:55] was this

[17:58] in relation to the contract or something

[18:00] separate? No, that was just something

[18:01] else.

[18:03] What was that? It's $1,000.

[18:09] Chief, can you speak to what that was?

[18:15] a background check on Chief Watson.

[18:17] Okay. That's that's for that service.

[18:20] Okay.

[18:22] That's correct. So, in the future

[18:25] this will look different. That's Yeah,

[18:27] that's my handwriting. That's why.

[18:30] Any additional questions discussion?

[18:34] Okay.

[18:35] So, we are voting to accept the amended

[18:38] to amend the motion

[18:41] uh to read motion to pay bills in the

[18:44] amount of $101,700.75

[18:47] for the time from February 13th, 2026 to

[18:52] March 9th, 2026.

[18:56] Okay. Make that motion. Okay.

[19:01] All in favor? All right. Yes. Any

[19:03] opposed?

[19:05] No? Great.

[19:07] All right. So, then we have the motion.

[19:10] So, you would like to make that motion?

[19:15] I'll make it. Okay.

[19:18] I'll second it. All right. Uh any uh All

[19:22] of All in favor?

[19:23] All right.

[19:24] Any opposed?

[19:26] Fantastic. Motion carried.

[19:29] What is this is done?

[19:31] Is there any new business?

[19:35] All right. Announcements.

[19:37] Um we did hold two executive sessions in

[19:40] between these meetings, one on February

[19:43] 19th, one on February 23rd, I believe.

[19:47] Um

[19:48] those meetings were to discuss

[19:50] uh Chief's departure.

[19:53] Um we talked about the uh contract

[19:56] negotiations a bit.

[20:02] Uh reports. President's report, not much

[20:05] to report since I'm not the president. I

[20:07] do want to uh

[20:09] say that we are making some progress in

[20:11] the contract negotiations. Um we have

[20:14] recognized the union

[20:16] um and that's a very positive

[20:17] development. Um and there are more

[20:20] meetings on that to come.

[20:22] So, but we're moving in the right in the

[20:23] right direction. Um and I believe that's

[20:26] all for now. Chief's report.

[20:28] Uh I have attached a report for the

[20:30] month for your information and also be

[20:32] put up on the uh

[20:35] Facebook page or our website this month.

[20:39] Okay.

[20:40] Uh last meeting, that's Do you have Do

[20:41] you have like parting words or

[20:43] something?

[20:45] Uh no.

[20:46] I think it's been a

[20:49] an eventual working here.

[20:52] Uh I hope I made a difference and uh

[20:55] I hope it

[20:56] carries on in the direction it's going.

[20:58] I I think a lot of things have been

[20:59] accomplished in a very short amount of

[21:01] time with the police department.

[21:03] And I really believe it's in the best

[21:06] interest of both communities that this

[21:08] succeed. And I hope I

[21:12] did something to get it started.

[21:14] It's okay.

[21:15] Head that way.

[21:17] Thank you, Chief. You're very welcome.

[21:19] Thank you. Is today your official last

[21:21] day? Yeah, Friday. Friday.

[21:23] Just last day.

[21:24] Friday, May 13th. Yeah.

[21:27] I didn't plan that far ahead.

[21:31] All right, if nothing else, will

[21:33] somebody please motion to adjourn?

[21:36] at 6:28 p.m. Second.

[21:40] All right.

Swissvale-Braddock Hills Regional Police Department Commission Meeting 03-09-2026

Agenda

Transcript