School PD Chief on Leave Pending Investigation

Solicitor: District moving through ‘appropriate actions’

By Adam Reinherz
The Tube City Almanac
September 06, 2024
Posted in: McKeesport and Region News

(Adam Reinherz photo)

A McKeesport resident asked Thursday why the school board gave its police chief a raise in salary while rumors were swirling about a possible criminal investigation at her previous job.

Brenda D. Sawyer, 61, of North Versailles Twp., was arrested Thursday by detectives from the Westmoreland County district attorney’s office following an months-long investigation into mishandling of funds during her time as regional director of narcotics investigations for the state Attorney General’s Office.

Sawyer retired from that job after being appointed police chief for McKeesport Area School District in October 2023.

During Thursday’s school board meeting, resident Julian Thomas asked board members and district officials if they knew that Westmoreland County detectives had searched Sawyer’s home in May.

“She was under investigation by the Westmoreland County D.A.’s office this entire time, but she was left on the job with our children,” Thomas said during the citizens’ comment portion of the meeting. “Why was the school police chief left on the job after a search warrant was served at her house a few months ago?”

Sawyer was charged with theft, forgery, obstruction of justice and other offenses after Westmoreland County officials alleged that she mishandled money that had been seized during drug investigations, and misused money that was intended for use by undercover narcotics officers.

According to a criminal complaint, at least $100,000 is missing from the state Attorney General’s Bureau of Narcotics Investigation & Drug Control in North Huntingdon Twp., where Sawyer served as regional director.

Detectives further accuse Sawyer of writing 58 checks to herself, totalling nearly $46,000, from two separate state-run accounts, as well as diverting more than $52,650 from the McKeesport unit of the NAACP, where she served as president, including $10,369 from the community violence fund.

The criminal complaint accuses Sawyer of using the money to cover gambling losses at local casinos.

She is being held in the Westmoreland County Prison in lieu of $100,000 bond pending a preliminary hearing next week before a district magisterial judge.

Following Thursday’s open agenda meeting, school district Solicitor Gary Matta said the district was made aware of the investigation “sometime after four o’clock this afternoon.”

Matta said he was unable to review those charges before Thursday’s 7:30 p.m. meeting; still, “as soon as the superintendent — the acting superintendent — was made aware, he immediately contacted Ms. Sawyer and placed her on a leave of absence.”

In May, Pittsburgh’s WPXI-TV reported that a warrant had been obtained by state police and other law enforcement officials to search the home of a former employee of the state Attorney General’s Office, though the station did not identify Sawyer at the time.

Matta said MASD was “aware that there was a search warrant in May” at Sawyer’s home, but the district concluded it had “nothing to do with this district.”

Part of moving through the “appropriate actions” is placing Sawyer on unpaid leave, Matta added.

Sawyer is well-known in McKeesport. In addition to her work with young people on gun-violence diversion programs, she also served as McKeesport’s first Black female police officer prior to joining the state Attorney General’s Office.

Shortly after Sawyer was hired at a salary of $75,000 by MASD in Oct. 2023, district president Mark Holtzman praised his former colleague.

“I personally worked with her in McKeesport,” Holtzman said. “She will be fabulous. She will make sure the security is squared away, and I got all that confidence in the world.”

Months later, at a Jan. 11 MASD meeting, Holtzman offered a renewed compliment for Sawyer and her commitment to safety: “I’ll say it again, and I'll probably say it until I leave this earth. She’s the best in the business and whatever she says I will go with every single time.”

On Aug. 30, MASD approved a $10,000 raise for the district chief bringing her annual salary to $85,000.

Thomas said Thursday that giving Sawyer a $10,000 raise is surprising, considering the district knew that she was under scrutiny by her former employer.

Last month, District Superintendent Tia Wanzo submitted her resignation. According to published reports, Wanzo is accused of knowing that a former school security guard was having a sexual relationship with a student, but failing to report it to higher authorities in a timely manner.

Three other district employees also have been implicated, according to reports.

The school district has hired an outside law firm to investigate the incident, and Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen Zappala Jr. also is investigating, according to published reports.

Thomas asked whether Sawyer had been involved in the investigation involving Wanzo and the other district employees, and if her behavior was “compromised.”

“Who was (Sawyer) beholden to?” Thomas said. “Why was she left on the job, and why did she receive a raise the exact same day that Wanzo was being pushed out the door? She owed somebody, and we’re going to get to the bottom of this.”

Adam Reinherz is a Pittsburgh-based writer. He can be reached at adam.reinherz@gmail.com.

Originally published September 06, 2024.

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