Police union challenges Erie DA's control of gun task force after acquittal of parole agent
Editorial illustration — Press Pass USAPennsylvania's statewide police union for parole officers is calling on the state to strip the Erie County District Attorney's Office of administrative control over the Erie Gun Working Group — the multi-agency anti-crime task force at the center of a high-profile acquittal.
In an Oct. 22 email to the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency, Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 92 executive director Thomas Wines asked the agency to "immediately review the Erie County District Attorney's Office's administration of the Erie Gun Working Group and take appropriate action to revoke its administrative control over the program's funding and reassign those responsibilities to the Erie Police Department."
The request follows the prosecution and acquittal of state parole agent Kevin J. Seelinger, who had argued self-defense in the fatal shooting of a parolee while both were assigned to the Gun Working Group. The lodge had already asked state Attorney General Dave Sunday to review how the DA's office handled the case. A state agency has already indicated it sees no need for action on an earlier request, according to the Erie Times-News.
The Gun Working Group brings together local, state and federal law enforcement in Erie County and is funded by a state grant the District Attorney's Office administers. The DA's office credited the group with 182 gun arrests and the seizure or recovery of 208 guns in 2025. In April 2026, the commission awarded a $499,567 grant to fund the group and other anti-violence initiatives through April 2029.
Wines called the Erie Police Department "a logical alternative" given its "direct involvement in local law enforcement, investigative responsibilities, and existing relationships with regional law enforcement partners."
Sources: Erie Times-News / GoErie (Oct 23, 2026); GoErie (Oct 22, 2026).
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