Yeadon police chief gets due process hearing to explain accused overspending amid allegations about race
Yeadon police chief gets due process hearing to explain accused overspending amid allegations about race
Yeadon Borough Police Chief Anthony 'Chachi' Paparo was awarded a due process hearing to defend himself against allegations of overspending. Paparo, who is well-liked in the community and has earned praise from the borough mayor, claims the newly-elected council wants to fire him because he is white.
YEADON, Pa. - The Yeadon Borough Council on Thursday moved to give Police Chief Anthony ‘Chachi’ Paparo a due process hearing that will allow him to defend himself against allegations of overspending.
The decision comes days after Chief Paparo claimed the newly-elected borough council will fire him because he is white.
The Yeadon Borough Council convened Thursday afternoon in front of a crowded room of residents mostly there to support the embattled chief. It took two executive recess sessions for the council to decide upon the due process session that will involve only Chief Paparo, his attorneys and the Yeadon Borough council members.
"If they fire me, you're still going to see my face in Yeadon," Chief Paparo told FOX 29. "I love this community, they're family to me."
Chief Paparo recently turned down a three-month severance package in a meeting with Yeadon Mayor Rohan K. Hepkins and Borough Council President Sharon Council-Harris.
Paparo has led the Yeadon Borough Police Department for the past five years and his crime-fighting strategies have garnered praise from the community and Mayor Hepkins.
"If you could clone him that's who people would want - chiefs, mayors, chief executives - would want around the country because he has decreased crime while being under budget," Hepkins said. "You'd be hard-pressed to find that type of performance, during the pandemic, crime went down."
Paparo said he started hearing rumblings that the borough council was going to fire him when his contract expired in January. He originally dismissed the idea that he would be removed from his post, then says he was met with a stirring accusation.
"Residents were coming to me, various people were coming to me, and say they're going to fire me in January. I was like ‘come on now," Paparo said. "Then the rumors started that they wanted a Black chief in Yeadon."
President Sharon Council-Harris called the accusation of racism is "totally absurd."
Yeadon Borough Council President calls rumors police chief will be fire because of race "totally absurd"
Yeadon Borough Council President said rumors that Anthony ‘Chachi’ Paparo would be fired because of his race are "totally absurd." Councilmembers are looking into Chief Paparo's alleged overspending before they make a decision about his contract that ended in December.
"It is unbelievable and outrageous," she told FOX 29. "We don't have to make a decision based on color, we didn't do it the first time, we won't do it the next time."
Council-Harris said that Paparo's future is in question for violating a Fraternal Order of Police contract clause with years of overspending.
"Chief Paparo was responsible for two consecutive years of violating FOP contract clause by providing over hours to part-timers to the tune of $387,000 grievance and fine," Council-Harris said. "So that is really the heart of this issue."
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Paparo soon found overwhelming support from the Yeadon community, which is 90% Black. A Change.org petition garnered hundreds of signatures in just days and residents packed an open council meeting on Monday to throw support behind Paparo.
"This man is well-loved in our community, a lot of his crime-fighting tactics have been emulated in neighboring boroughs," Mayor Hepkins said. "Yes I am a Black mayor and I want to keep this white police chief because he's keeping our community safe."
The council meeting is scheduled for 2 p.m.
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