Pennsylvania borough ditches plan to hire officer under investigation, votes in new police chief
COLLINGDALE, Pa. (CBS) -- Two weeks ago, a council meeting in Collingdale, Delaware County, ended abruptly with tempers flaring over efforts to appoint a police chief.
The meeting resumed on Tuesday night and residents filled the Collingdale Community Center to capacity.
Police officers and the community alike were bracing for a council vote over the possible appointment of Chester Police Corporal Rhaheem Blanden, whom county prosecutors confirm is the target of an active criminal investigation. The FOP said he's on administrative leave from his job with Chester.
About a half hour in, the crowd was informed Blanden was no longer up for the job. They were shocked but cheered.
"It was total chaos in that meeting," Chris Eiserman, the president of the FOP Lodge 47, said. "I never seen a borough council meeting ran like it was ran in there, but at the end of the day, we are happy because they took Mr. Blanden's name out of consideration. So from the FOP standpoint, mission accomplished."
Residents wanted to reinstate their old police chief, but Collingdale Borough Council then voted in a new one — Shanee Mitchell, a police chief in Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania.
It was a last-minute decision that residents and even the mayor didn't see coming.
"We need time to meet and be able to get along with this person and know that she is going to gel with our force," Mayor Donna Matteo-Spadea said. "It's not fair to these police officers."
Matteo-Spadea added she has never met the police chief that the council voted in.
"I have never set eyes on her," she added. "If she was in this room tonight, I wouldn't know who it is. None of us would."
Residents say they are frustrated with council, but are calling for unity following drama-filled and tense meetings.
The FOP said it plans to contact Mitchell moving forward.
"At the end of the day, the FOP is willing to work with her. She is a retired lieutenant from the Philadelphia Police Department, so I am sure she has a good background," Eiserman said.
As for what's next for Collingdale, residents said they still have a lot of work to do. They say they still have many questions about the new hire and the future of the department.
