Federation welcomes new deputy security director
Eric Kroll brings three decades of experience to his new role
A new name has been added to the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh’s community security team and, for many, it will prove familiar.
Recently retired Pittsburgh Police Lieutenant Eric Kroll began walking the beat as Federation’s deputy security director on Aug. 5. He joins Director of Community Security Shawn Brokos and Security Program Coordinator Erin Fagan in a heightened threat environment—there have been 181 antisemitic incidents so far this year, logged by Federation’s Virtual Command, compared to 148 incidents in the same time frame last year.
Kroll was most recently stationed at Zone 4 in Squirrel Hill but has served across the city and region since beginning his career in 1993, first in Mt. Oliver before moving to a department in Washington County.
He was hired by the city in 1995 and spent time working in the South Side before becoming certified as an instructor under the Municipal Police Officers’ Education and Training Commission in 1996.
After receiving his certification, Kroll began training other officers as an adjunct field training officer while still serving in Zone 3. He eventually became a full-time instructor before returning to police work in the West End and South Side, where he served as a community police officer and detective.
In 2005, Kroll was promoted to sergeant, working in the city’s North Side neighborhood before beginning a ten-year stint back at the police academy serving as a supervisor.
“In 2017, I was asked by then Director of Public Safety Wendell Hissrich to become the liaison to the Office of Emergency Management and work underneath the director,” he said.
Kroll said he spent two-and-a-half years in the position and that his main focus was active shooter/active threat situations, a role that made sense given his previous experience.
“Prior to that, at the academy, I worked with EMS and fire to develop the Rescue Task Force which is the police, fire and EMS working together in active shooter incidents,” he said.
As the task force was being created, Brad Orsini, then Federation’s community security director, was looking to do a drill at the Jewish Community Center of Greater Pittsburgh.
“That was the first time we tested our concept of the rescue task force,” he said. “10 months prior to the Tree of Life. We continued with our training after that. The actual concept was used that day [Oct. 27, 2018] to extract victims and police officers from the Tree of Life.”
Kroll will always remember his promotion to lieutenant, not necessarily for the achievement, but rather for its proximity to history.
“The day I got promoted, the next day was the lockdown because of COVID,” he said.
He eventually moved to Zone 5, which encompasses the East End, Homewood, East Liberty and Point Breeze, among other neighborhoods serving as the night shift lieutenant.
In 2024, Kroll moved to Zone 4, serving as the acting top commander after the former commander’s retirement. The position was a point of pride for Kroll as it was the location where his father worked as a police officer.
Once a new commander was named, Kroll moved to its night shift lieutenant, a position where he eventually retired before being named Federation’s deputy security director.
Brokos said the decision to hire a deputy was a long time coming, noting she had discussions with Federation’s President and CEO Jeff Finkelstein after first being hired in 2020.
COVID, however, put a pause in those plans, as Brokos and Federation had to adapt.
“We really had to change how and what we did,” she said. “It just wasn’t the right time to bring on a deputy security director, largely because we went virtual and many of our locations weren’t even open.”
And while the position might seem a reaction to Oct. 7 and the rise in antisemitic incidents since Hamas’ terrorist attack, Brokos said that isn’t the case.
“We began this process in early 2023,” she said. “It’s taken a while to find the right fit.”
The time, she noted, was well used.
“We are beyond grateful to have Eric Kroll on board with us at Federation,” she said.
Brokos said she has a history of working with Kroll, who has assisted Federation with some of their security training offerings. The two also worked together whenever there was a need for police coordination in Squirrel Hill.
Kroll, she noted, is a full partner whose focus will break down into four large responsibilities: target hardening to make sure the community’s buildings are safe; Threat mitigation, serving as a person of contact when threats are made, especially in Zone 4; Training; and serving as a law enforcement and community liaison.
Kroll’s experience, Brokos said, makes him perfect for his new role.
“One of the beautiful things is that he has spent years working in Zone 4 and is so familiar already, independent of us, of our organization and the people in our organization and the Jewish community,” she said. “For the past few years, he has been our point of contact for arranging security for the High Holidays. There’s a list of things that he has already done in his police capacity that led right into what he’ll be doing with Federation.”
For his part, Kroll said that while leaving the police force is difficult after 30 years, he’s enthusiastic to be working with Federation.
“I feel very welcomed. I can’t say enough about it. I’m really excited to get started and build on what’s already been built,” he said. PJC
David Rullo can be reached at drullo@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org
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