East Washington’s new police chief resigns
East Washington’s newly hired police chief resigned last week, forcing borough officials to begin searching for his replacement to lead the department.
Robert Caldwell, who was promoted to police chief in September, submitted his resignation letter last month and left Friday after spending five years in various positions with the department.
Caldwell could not be reached for comment on his reason to leave so soon after the promotion, and he gave no specifics for the decision in his resignation letter accepted by borough council Nov. 17.
“It was disappointing on our part because we went through a lot with him with contractual obligations,” council President Guy Tucci said. “He’s a good guy and we’ll miss him.”
His resignation comes nearly six months after Mark Griffith, the previous officer-in-charge, retired from the police department citing health reasons. It also caps a tumultuous year for East Washington and its police department, in which council discussed reorganizing the force, along with infighting that led to the abrupt resignations of four council members.
Tucci said chief’s resignation does not indicate problems within the department and the borough is planning to spend about 10 percent more on police services in 2015. The borough budgeted $208,650 for this year. He said borough officials met with many of the department’s 14 part-time officers and discussed the situation with them in an attempt to “quell” any rumors.
“It’s not a burden for us to keep the police force. We’ll maintain it,” Tucci said. “We have good guys there.”
The borough selected Ronald Miles to become the temporary officer-in-charge while council begins searching for a new police chief or department supervisor next month. Miles will schedule shifts and supervise the department along with Mayor Michael Gomber.