Collingdale borough police chief controversy aftermath: Who is Shanee Mitchell?
COLLINGDALE, Pa. - There are still so many questions following Tuesday night’s packed and heated meeting in Collingdale.
Council President Ryan Hastings told FOX 29 he was unavailable for an interview.
Over the phone, he said he feels Shanee Mitchell, the Chief of the Selinsgrove Police Department in Snyder County for about two years, is highly-qualified and he loves her stance on community policing.
Collingdale borough council vote to hire unexpected police chief after community outcry
For the second time in two weeks, residents and area police officers packed a Collingdale Borough Council meeting Tuesday to protest the planned hiring of a new police chief. However something unexpected happened.
Michell’s bio on a Penn State website says she’s also a Stage 3 breast cancer survivor.
Hastings says he did not invite two councilmembers to her interview because the pair had previously released private information about a different candidate. When asked about the community’s skepticism following the sudden announcement, he said he understands, but they can’t provide personal information about a candidate until they are selected.
Councilmember Felecia Coffee, one of the two councilmembers, along with the Mayor, that said they had no idea council would vote to hire Mitchell, or that she was a candidate, said she never interviewed any potential Chief of Police candidates.
"Not at all," she told FOX 29’s Kelly Rule on Wednesday. "And that’s not very transparent of council, as we’re all here to represent Collingdale as a whole."
"Moving forward, we definitely need a chief on site, for our guys to kind of calm down the morale of the police department, because they are uncertain," she added.
Rose Blythe, who has lived in Collingdale for 51 years and can list almost every police chief of her time in the borough, says she isn’t pleased the potential next top cop is a stranger and a surprise.
"I’m not happy, I think it should be somebody within the borough that cares about the borough," said Blythe. "Let’s make sure she’s going to be here to work for our community, that my tax dollars are going to pay for."
FOX 29 made several requests to reach Mitchell for comment.