Vandergrift police return to full staffing with 2 new officers
Vandergrift Borough has two new full-time police officers.
Council approved hiring Danny Anthony and Steven Zemba at a starting salary of $59,692 each. Their salaries would increase to $71,075 after three years, Vandergrift police Chief Joe Caporali said. They will begin patrolling this month.
The borough normally maintains eight full-time police officers and five part-time officers. Caporali said the police department has been down two full-time police officers for almost a year because of illnesses.
The reduced staffing forced the officers to take on overtime to provide 24/7 police coverage in the borough. At the extreme, sometimes an officer would be assigned an extra 40 hours in a week.
“Working the overtime takes a toll on the officers. But the guys really did a good job stepping up. It will be a big sigh of relief to have a full staff again,” Caporali said. “I’m glad we were able to have enough candidates to fill the positions.”
Zemba, 37, graduated from Hempfield Area High School and received an associate degree in criminal justice from Westmoreland County Community College in 2007. He previously served with the Allegheny Township Police Department and Westmoreland County Park Police.
“I look forward to serving Vandergrift,” Zemba said. “I hope my education, training, skills and qualifications can contribute to improving the quality of life in the community.”
The borough received six applications for the two police jobs.
Officers mostly field calls about domestic disturbances and drug use, Caporali said.
“A lot of domestics are fueled by drug use,” Caporali said. “We do have speeding problems, but you have to prioritize, and sometimes those get bumped down on the list because of the domestics, assaults and burglaries.”
The force responded to more than 40 domestic disturbance calls in January and February, Caporali said. Now that the department is returning to a full complement, he said, officers will more easily be able to address traffic issues.
“They can begin the speed watches on the bypass (Route 56),” Caporali said.
Joyce Hanz is a native of Charleston, S.C. and is a features reporter covering the Pittsburgh region. She majored in media arts and graduated from the University of South Carolina. She can be reached at jhanz@triblive.com
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