On Nov. 18, 2020, Kyle Shumosic, left, was promoted to detective with the City of Pittston Police Dept., and Neil Murphy, right, was elevated to Chief of Police in a cermony conducted at the Cosgrove Center, Pittston Memorial Library. Thirteen-months later, Chief Murphy retired and Det. Shumosic was promoted to chief replacing Murphy.
Tony Callaio | For Sunday Dispatch
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Newly appointed Chief of Police of the City of Pitttston, Kyle Shumosic, left, stands next to city Mayor Michael Lombardo. This was Lombardo’s third appointed chief during his four terms as mayor.
Tony Callaio | For Sunday Dispatch
As the City of Pittston’s newest Chiefs of Police, Kyle Shumonic said he will focus on acquiring the latest technology in law enforcement to keep the city safe under his leadership.
Tony Callaio | For Sunday Dispatch
Kyle Shumosic, at 34 years-old, is one of the youngest Chiefs of Police in the City of Pittston’s history.
Tony Callaio | For Sunday Dispatch
PITTSTON — Kyle Shumosic has been on the City of Pittston Police force for 12 years slowly moving up the ranks. In 2020, he was promoted to detective where he was able to use his puzzle-solving skills. Thirteen months later, Shumosic became the newest Chief of Police for the city.
When former Chief Neil Murphy decided to retire, Shumosic said he never could have imagined he would be the former chief’s replacement.
“I was surprised and shocked and I wasn’t expecting it,” Shumosic said. “I am honored I was even considered for the position.”
Chief Shumosic wasn’t the only one astonished to hear about the elevation; his family was pretty stunned as well.
“My dad (Wade) was surprised and shocked when I told him (Chief) Murphy was going to retire,” Shumosic said. “He laughed and said, ‘What, are they making you chief?’ I said yes and both started laughing.”
Chief Shumosic was hired by the City of Pittston as a part-time patrolman in July 2010 sharing his time working with the West Pittston Police Dept.
In May of 2013, Shumosic got the break he was looking for and was hired full-time by the city.
He worked on patrol in various capacities until November 2020 when he was promoted to detective.
Since his promotion to the position of detective, Shumosic did most of his work in the basement of City Hall on Broad Street, where he had very little contact with anything happening in the department. He felt his was flying under the radar, especially when it came to promoting someone to chief.
“I didn’t pay attention to any rumors whether the decision (for chief) was for me or against me,” Shumosic admitted. “For the past year was busy doing criminal investigation and I, so to speak, never came up for air. Last year we had a busy year with a few serial rapists cases, the Nova (animal starvation) case, which is still going on, we had one of our officers shot at, so there wasn’t any time to worry about the chief position.”
“Kyle is the third chief I have appointed while being mayor of the city,” Pittston City Mayor Michael Lombardo said. “You know, those decisions don’t come lightly and you really want to look at not only who’s the highest in the pecking order, but who has the right amount of experience and the right amount of skills to get us to where we’re headed next. It’s a sequence and Kyle became the obvious choice.”
Mayor Lombardo feels Shumosic will offer stability and consistence with the department for many years to come.
“We have a young department and there’s great opportunity there for the future of the city and the department and Kyle’s leadership lines up with that and with his leadership he’s the right person that could get us to those next places. I can see the chief staying in that position until he retires if he chooses so.”
According to Mayor Lombardo, Chief Shumosic may be one of the youngest chiefs in the city’s history.
Chief Shumosic will use all of the experiences he’s gained in his 12 years in law enforcement since graduating from the Lackawanna Police Academy to take the City of Pittston Police Department into the future.
“Moving forward, I’d like to keep up with progress and technology, keep the guys moving forward and my predecessors have already made great strides in community oriented policing, being engaged in the community and doing the job of patrolling the streets, solving crimes and being out there doing what we do,” Shumosic said. “If I can hope for anything it’s to continue that, build upon it and also be attentive to new technology and philosophies as far as police work is concerned, to continue to move forward.”
Currently, the department has nine full-time officers and anywhere between five to 10 part-time officers depending in attrition.
Chief Shumosic, the son of Wade and Cheryl Shumosic, is a native of West Nanticoke, a Bishop Hoban High School and Luzerne County Community College graduate, as well as the Lackawanna Police Academy.
