The Penn Township police department received reaccreditation Wednesday in Lancaster, and Chief Michael Mastroianni checked off the last thing on his to-do list before retirement.
After 35 years in law enforcement, Mastroianni's last day with Penn Township will come next week. Though he was eligible to retire last year, he says he wanted to work through the reaccreditation process and then make a decision.
The police department has been accredited with the state since May 2005. Accreditation is given to police departments that meet or exceed law enforcement standards set by the Pennsylvania Chiefs of Police Association.
"That's something I don't think people understand what a big deal it is. There are 1,200 police departments in Pennsylvania and we were No. 32 to be accredited," Mastroianni says. "I think there are 52 now, but that's a lot of work to be one of 52. I'm both proud and honored."
As Mastroianni sits in his office at the police department, there's a hint of sadness in his voice as he points at the bare walls and cabinets. Only a picture of him and his colleagues receiving the first accreditation and photos and notes from his family remain.
"Cleaning out my desk, and looking over old files, you get a little melancholy," Mastroianni said. "I'm not sad that I'm leaving. It's clearly the right thing at the right time, but you can't help it."
Though Mastroianni says the experience has made him a bit "sappy," he's not getting away from law enforcement entirely.
Mastroianni has been keeping busy preparing for his new job as an independent consultant through the Pennsylvania Commission of Crime and Delinquency. He will be the police liaison for western Pennsylvania, and he will visit police departments and assess their compliance with provisions of the Juvenile Justice Act beginning Aug. 1.
The bonuses, he says, are that he'll work part time, he'll work from home, he'll set his own schedule and he'll still work with police officers.
"It's not like I'm going to have to go through withdrawal cold turkey," he says. "I know a lot, if not most, of the chiefs in southwestern Pennsylvania, so I'll still get to see my colleagues, so that'll be good."
Though his job as a police officer took up a lot of his time, Mastroianni says he never could imagine himself doing anything else. After graduating from Trafford High School in 1970, he received an associate's degree in police science and administration from the Community College of Allegheny County.
The Level Green native first was hired as a part-time patrolman in Penn Township in July 1973.
"I was pretty much hooked from that first shift," he says. "I never wanted to work anywhere else but Penn Township."
But he did have to go somewhere else.
After marrying his wife, Karen, in 1974, Mastroianni took a job as a full-time officer in Trafford.
A full-time position opened up in Penn Township in January 1977, and Mastroianni moved to Harrison City three months later. He's been with the township ever since, and was named chief in 1999.
"I liked the people that worked here. I liked the guys that were on the job when I first came in, and I still look to them," Mastroianni says. "I guess I fit in or clicked or something. I just really didn't want to work anywhere else. This is it."
There were some hard days, he says, but he never questioned his decision to become a police officer.
"There were days when I came to work and for 50 cents I'd have given you the whole place and you could have owed me the 50 cents," Mastroianni says. "But overall, there was never a time that I said, 'I don't want to do this anymore. There's got to be another way to make a buck.'"
Throughout his career, Mastroianni experienced the growth of Penn Township and has encountered many people.
"We've seen it all. We've heard it all," Mastroianni says with a laugh. "I was told one time -- and it's true -- that our badge is the ticket to the greatest show on earth. That's one of the neat things about being a policeman.
"When you see the police line, 'Do Not Cross,' I can cross it. I can go in there and see what's going on."
Joking aside, Mastroianni says, officers encounter very dangerous situations.
"When things get bad and everyone else is running away from trouble, it's our job to go run toward the trouble," Mastroianni says. "It's definitely a dangerous job."
That worried his wife and two children, Allison and Matthew. When Mastroianni's children were young, they'd put their father to bed because he had to go to work at 11 p.m.
"I have two of the best kids in the world. My son, every night when they'd tuck me in, he'd tell me that he loved me and he'd tell me to be careful," Mastroianni says with a smile. "To this day when he calls me on the phone and we end a phone conversation, he tells me he loves me and he tells me to be careful. He'll be 26 years old next week."
So Mastroianni made a point not to discuss work at home.
"I didn't tell my wife hardly anything. I didn't want to give her more to worry about," he says. "At the end of the day, people asking what case I worked on, none of that matters. We arrested people and on July 28 when I'm not here anymore, the guys are going to continue arresting people and doing their jobs.
"I think what makes a difference is the relationships that you make, and that you serve the public. I gave them my all. Every day I walked through that door, I gave them my everything."
The cards Mastroianni has received wishing him luck give him hope that people appreciate what officers in the township do, he says.
"That means a whole lot more to me than someone asking about the biggest case I worked on," he says. "I'd like to hope that people understand we're professionals and not just a mob of guys who drive around in police cars.
"I stopped a long time ago trying to make everyone happy because you can't. We are never, ever, ever going to make everybody happy, and that's not our function."
Mastroianni says he thinks the new chief will enjoy his time in the township.
"I'm sure whoever they get in here is going to be a seasoned officer," Mastroianni says. "It's good people who work here, good people that live here. If he has half as good a career as I've had, he'll be fine."
