Upper St. Clair welcomes new police chief
In a room filled with family, friends and coworkers, Jonathan Wharton took his oath of office during the Aug. 27 commissioners meeting, officially becoming Upper St. Clair’s new chief of police.
Wharton fills the void created by the retirement of Douglas Burkholder.
An Upper St. Clair native, Wharton joined the township police department in 1991 at age 21. He was promoted to sergeant in 2012, and to lieutenant in 2017.
Wharton earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of Pittsburgh and his master’s degree in criminal justice from California University of Pennsylvania. Earlier this year, Wharton graduated from the FBI National Academy. A firearms, Taser, baton and self-defense instructor, his professional police training also includes ACTAR collision reconstruction and Computer Voice Stress Analysis (CVSA)/truth verification.
After his swearing-in, Wharton thanked township officials and his colleagues in the police department for their support and thanked former police chiefs Ron Pardini and Burkholder for their guidance, saying it made him the leader he is today. He also thanked his family, especially his wife Lauren, and sons Eric, Greg and Andrew, and his friends for their support through the years.
“I vow to the community that I will fulfill my new role to the best of my ability,” Wharton said.
Board President Mark Christie said he was excited that Chief Wharton would be leading the police department.
“We know he’ll do a good job,” Christie said.
Township Manager Matt Serakowski added that they were “so proud of Jon and we have the utmost confidence in his leadership.”
Pardini, a commissioner and former police chief, said it was a great feeling to watch someone develop to their full potential. He said Wharton was a very community-minded man.
“He will be a very fine chief,” Pardini said.