Dec 28, 2014 5 min read

R.T. Bell knew from the time he was a student at Chartiers-Houston High School that he wanted to be a police officer.

“In fact, in my senior yearbook, that’s what I said I wanted to be,” said Bell, who is ending a 47-year career with the Canonsburg Police Department, including the last 36 years as chief, Dec. 31. He joined the department in March 1967. He was promoted to sergeant in November 1973 and named detective three years later. He was appointed chief in August 1978.

“When I started, there were over 65 liquor licenses in Canonsburg,” Bell said. “There were a lot of bars, not only downtown but in the neighborhoods, that kept us busy with calls.

“Most of the calls were for people who were drunk and disorderly, with a few fights,” he added. “The majority of bars were good, as were the clubs. It was only a few places where we had problems.”

Most of the other calls involved disturbances or domestic disputes.

“Most of the time, we knew the people,” the chief said. “We went in and broke up the fight. We didn’t have to worry about guns and knives and other weapons like we do now.”

A decade into the job, Bell started to see changes.

“Most of the families we dealt with when I started had grown up in Canonsburg, so we all knew each other,” Bell said. “A lot of the bigger houses have been made into apartments. We get a lot of people moving in and out.”

The drunk and disorderly calls have been replaced by more domestic flare-ups and drug-related calls including overdoses.

“Back in the day, burglars would steal because they needed money,” the chief explained. “Today, the burglars are more likely people who need money for drugs.”

Training and equipment for law enforcement have certainly changed during his career.

“I remember our first portable radios were referred to as bricks because of their size,” the chief recalled. “When I started, we still had radio call boxes with red lights. You’d go to one of those boxes and call in.

“As technology has advanced, it has been difficult for departments to keep up financially,” Bell said. “Back in the 1970s and 1980s, we had a lot more grants, but those all dried up.”

Police are now finding their actions being more closely monitored, the chief said, especially over the last few months given what happened in Missouri and New York City.

“At the same time, there is more pressure put on officers. Everyone is watching what we do,” he added. “Our accountability is under the microscope, especially in the last year. You have a moment to make a decision that everyone else will look at for years.”

For Bell, the toughest calls to answer have been ones involving children.

“I never liked dealing with calls where the victims were children,” he said.

The chief also recalled the 1979 robbery at Carl’s Cleaners. The owner, Carl Luisi, and a 15-year-old clerk, Tina Spalla, were shot and killed by William “Tippy” Wallace.

“It was sad, a store owner and young girl murdered over $100,” Bell said. “It was not easy to deal with that.”

In recent years, one of the biggest challenges was the stabbing death of a Honduran national along the railroad tracks just off Youngstown Street.

“There was really a language barrier because almost everyone involved only spoke Spanish,” Bell said. “But my officers did a great job, and we had help from state police because one of their officers spoke Spanish, which helped with the translation.”

Bell said the department now has an officer who speaks Spanish.

Over the years, Bell has been active in various local and state police chief organizations, including being named president of Western Pennsylvania Chiefs of Police Association. He also was named the first president of the Washington County Chiefs of Police Association and was recently re-elected to the position.

“I really appreciate all the cooperation I’ve had with other police departments and law enforcement agencies, as well as organizations in the borough, over the years,” Bell said. “That cooperation made my job much easier.”

Bell also has been active with the county’s drug and alcohol commission and was part of planning for the county’s new booking center.

Bell plans to keep busy, although he is not sure what he will be doing. He said his wife, Sophia, is still working.

“I feel like I could have worked longer, but the time is right,” Bell said. “You figure, it has been 47 years and 10 months.

“I have been fortunate always to have good officers and a good staff working with me,” he added. “I love the job. It has been a good career, but everything has to come to an end. I will find something to do. It is not in my nature to sit around.”

Deputy Chief Harold Coleman also is retiring. Coleman was first hired as a dispatcher for the department on Aug. 8, 1967, before becoming a patrolman on April 8, 1968. He also was a detective sergeant overseeing criminal investigations before he was named deputy chief.

In August, borough council named Detective Sgt. Alexander Coghill to replace Bell. Coghill has been with the department since May 1991.