Yeadon Borough Council Votes To Remove Anthony Paparo As Police Chief
YEADON, Pa. (CBS) -- Yeadon Borough Council voted to remove Anthony Paparo as its police chief Thursday night. The vote was 4 to 3 in favor of removing Paparo.
Paparo says he was fired because he's not Black. The council says it's because of overspending.
Yeadon Borough Council removing Police Chief Anthony Paparo from the department. It was a packed house, very heated, and community members fought hard to keep him. Full story tonight on @CBSPhilly pic.twitter.com/WyrB5aPION
— Kerri Corrado (@KerriCorrado) February 18, 2022
There were signs, heightened emotions, and a room full of opinions at the Yeadon Borough Council meeting Thursday night.
"I am angry," one woman said. "I am livid. This is a disgrace."
The Borough Council voted 4 to 3 to remove Paparo from the police department.
It all started after Paparo says his job was on the line because of his race. He says he was told some councilmembers preferred a Black chief to run the force. Councilmembers denied this claim, saying he was removed because of his job performance and money.
"This is not about race," Council President Sharon Council-Harris said. "I hired him in 2017."
Those who voted to remove Paparo say it was over performance and money. They claim he violated a police collective bargaining agreement when he offered overtime jobs to part-time officers.
Paparo says he only did that when full-timers were unavailable and had no other option to keep the community safe.
Paparo was devasted and emotional after the meeting.
"This is not how my career ends. Thirty-eight years of my life as a cop, it's not how my career ends because they don't like the color of my skin," Paparo said. "It's destroying my wife, it's destroying my kids. My career doesn't end like this. It doesn't end like this."
The crowd erupted during the meeting, backing him up from the beginning.
"He deserves the best. We have it, leave the chief alone," one woman said.
"I like having the knowledge that there's somebody who personally cares about these residents in Yeadon," a man said.
Lt. Shawn Burns will serve as interim chief.
Paparo's attorney Harold Goodman meantime says they'll fight this decision.
"It was a shameful night. There was not a bit of fairness," Goodman said. "A good man has been thrown to the dogs, but he is strong and will rise."
Paparo said he had scheduled school training on Friday and he plans to be there because he still cares about the community.