New police chief getting to know California

By CHRISTINE HAINES

chaines@yourmvi.com

California’s newest police chief didn’t waste any time between his hiring and his first full day on the job.

Tim Kirsch, 55, was hired by a unanimous vote of borough council Monday night. He spent Tuesday getting to know his new co-workers and community.

“It’s been a whirlwind of a day. There’s a lot to absorb,” Kirsch said Tuesday afternoon.

Kirsch retired after 27 years in the Bethel Park Police Department and three years as a school police officer in the Bethel Park School District. Prior to becoming a police officer, Kirsch served in the U.S. Air Force. A native of Pittsburgh, Kirsch thought he was going to become a firefighter.

“Sophie Masloff was mayor at the time and she put a hiring freeze on the fire department,” he said.

His girlfriend, who later became his wife, lived in Bethel Park and heard there was an opening on the police force. He applied for and landed the job. By the time Pittsburgh was hiring firefighters again and gave him a call, Kirsch was married, owned a house  and he and his wife were expecting their first child. It wasn’t the time to make a career change, he said.

It was Kirsch’s daughter who spotted the advertisement for a police chief in California.

“I was just going to retire for good, but I’m only 55 and I didn’t want to outlive my money,” Kirsch said of his decision to apply for the position.

To read the rest of the story, please see a copy of Wednesday’s Mon Valley Independent, call 724-314-0035 to subscribe or subscribe to our online edition at http://monvalleyindependent.com.