New Kensington hires 3 police officers, bringing force to full strength

Three new officers will join the New Kensington Police Department in the coming weeks.

Council hired the three Monday: Shane Rebel of Greensburg; Seth Hosack of Apollo; and Brian Shaw of Lower Burrell.

According to police Chief Jim Klein, the hires bring the department back up to full staffing, which is 23 full-time officers.

“They will be a great addition to the police department,” he said.

Mayor Tom Guzzo said the hires follow the retirements of Sgt. Steve Groark, Sgt. Russ Baker and Patrolman Gary Schubert from the department in the past year.

All three of the new hires are white men. The department has one black patrolman and no female officers.

Klein said the department is working to hire minority officers, but few have traditionally applied for civil service testing.

Council was presented a list of 15 potential officers approved by the city's civil service board following written tests conducted in February and oral exams given in April.

Scarpiniti said officers with a background in military service must be given hiring preference, according to city code. Rebel and Hosack are both veterans, Scarpiniti said.

A patrolman's starting salary in New Kensington is just under $48,200.

The three will begin patrolling as soon as they pass routine medical and psychological screening, City Clerk Dennis Scarpiniti said.

Matthew Medsger is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at 724-226-4675, mmedsger@tribweb.com or via Twitter @matthew_medsger.