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McKeesport pulled off a trick that neither New York City nor Pittsburgh could --- it scored a COPS grant from the federal stimulus package.

The city's force is one of 1,046 law enforcement agencies sharing $1 billion set aside for hiring police officers under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, U.S. Justice Department officials announced this week.

In a separate announcement, city officials confirmed that up to 20 McKeesport police officers will be on special assignment to the City of Pittsburgh and Allegheny County during the G-20 summit of world leaders Sept. 24 and 25.

"i think it's really important that this region --- including the Mon Valley --- put its best foot forward," Mayor James Brewster says. "This is a historic event and to be a participant in that is a real tribute to the city."

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For McKeesport, the $642,000 grant from the federal Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (or "COPS") will fund hiring three full-time police officers for three years. The city must commit to retaining the positions at its own expense for a fourth year.

Police Chief Joe Pero says the full-time hires will be chosen from the city's pool of part-time officers.

City officials hoped COPS would fund 10 full-time positions, he says, but that wasn't in the offing.

"That would have been a substantial boost, but we weren't sure we could get that," Pero says. "We're happy that we got three."

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The new full-timers will be added to the city's motor patrol unit, to be deployed where needed, he says. Besides police officers in squad cars, the city also has foot patrol officers as-needed Downtown and other neighborhoods.*

In addition to McKeesport, the city's 60-person force also protects Dravosburg under contract.

Law enforcement needs were on many minds last Friday afternoon, when a gunman fired into a crowd of people on Sinclair Street --- within sight of city hall --- seriously injuring a pregnant 30-year-old woman.

One man has been charged in connection with the shooting.

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A strong police department is an "essential ingredient" for a city to come back, Brewster says.

Last year, McKeesport also received a COPS grant to hire three officers, Pero says, but unlike this year's award, that three-year allocation required the city to match 25, 50 and 75 percent of the funding in each year, respectively.

While McKeesport, Homestead and Wilkinsburg are among the Mon Valley area municipalities awarded COPS funding from the stimulus, communities like Seattle, Houston and New York City were passed over.

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That's sparked angry reactions from leaders in those cities --- often from Republicans opposed to the Obama administration, including U.S. Rep. Peter King of New York. King, the ranking Republican on the House Homeland Security Committee, called the allocations "disgraceful."

Federal officials weighed communities that applied for funding based on crime statistics and financial need. (PDF report, Adobe Reader required.)

Of several hundred communities in Pennsylvania that applied for COPS funding, only 10 were ranked higher than McKeesport, including Philadelphia, Harrisburg, Erie, McKees Rocks and Reading.

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Separately, McKeesport officials confirmed that the city's force will participate in security preparations for the G-20 summit, to be held at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center in Pittsburgh.

Perhaps the most prestigious event ever hosted by the Pittsburgh region, the G-20 summit is a meeting between the finance ministers and central bank officials of 19 of the world's most prosperous nations and the European Union.

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Besides the obvious security problems presented by the concentration of so many international diplomats, similar gatherings in other cities have attracted violent demonstrations by leftist groups opposed to what they regard as unfair monetary and trade policies.

During the 1999 World Trade Organization meeting in Seattle, 50,000 protesters descended on the city, overwhelming a police contingent that numbered less than 2,000, according to an Associated Press report.

The Herald Sun of Melbourne, Australia, reported that 10,000 people demonstrated against "corporate globalization" during the 2006 G-20 summit in that city. (With 3.8 million residents, Melbourne is about twice as populous as Allegheny County, and almost five times larger by area.)

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Federal officials have estimated that up to 4,000 police officers will be needed to secure the convention center, major hotels, transportation routes, the Pittsburgh International Airport and Allegheny County Airport in West Mifflin.

The Pittsburgh police bureau has only 900 officers, while the Allegheny County police department has about 230.

McKeesport's participation was first reported in Wednesday's Daily News. Pero says city officers assigned to the G-20 will be drawn from desk or detective duties and not pulled from street patrols.

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"We're taking some detectives and some administrators," the chief says. "We'll still have full coverage and won't limit our services in the city of McKeesport."

Still to be determined is how McKeesport and other municipalities will be reimbursed for loaning their police officers.

"We don't know the answer yet," Brewster says, "but we still have some time, and we've thrown out a number (of officers) that we think we can make available."

* -- edited after publication; see comments