Collingdale council meeting turns fiery as cops, residents condemn police chief candidate over alleged misconduct

COLLINGDALE, Pa. (KYW Newsradio) — Chaos erupted at a Collingdale Borough Council meeting in Delaware County Tuesday night over the potential hiring of a police chief candidate who is currently under investigation for alleged misconduct.

The vote to move forward with Rhaheem Blanden as Collingdale’s next police chief was ultimately put on hold due to the heated meeting-turned-shouting match. Blanden and one man even got face-to-face arguing with each other.

Members of the Delaware County Fraternal Order of Police tried to speak out against the candidate during the public comment period but were denied because they did not sign up ahead of time and were not borough residents.

The Delco FOP had posted a call for action on social media for members to attend the meeting, as the potential hiring was on the agenda. Collingdale Borough Council voted to remove the previous top cop, Patrick Kilroy, in June.

Blanden has been a corporal detective of major crimes in the city of Chester. He has served on the force there for more than 15 years. He is currently under investigation for allegedly tipping off an attempted homicide suspect five minutes before a raid earlier this year, police union officials said.

“He put these SWAT officers in danger by calling [the suspect],” Delaware County FOP President Chris Eiserman told NBC10 . “And let me tell you, when the officers went to the house to serve the warrant, they recovered a fully loaded 9mm pistol in his close proximity, so it’s a disgrace.”

Eiserman said Blanden should be disqualified from consideration for the job.

“It doesn’t make any sense,” he said. “A normal police applicant, if he was under criminal investigation, would not get the job.”

The Delaware County District Attorney’s Office confirmed an investigation is underway.

Blanden, who attended the meeting and faced opposition from union members and community residents in attendance, spoke to reporters briefly after the meeting.

“I can’t comment about anything in reference to the ongoing internal investigation with the job. And I don’t know anything about a criminal investigation with [the Criminal Investigation Division],” Blanden said.

Some neighbors expressed serious concerns about Blanden.

“No way we ever, ever should even think about hiring someone that’s under investigation for criminal activity in another police force,” one woman said to NBC10.

Others had a wait-and-see approach.

“He hasn’t been convicted and in this country it should be innocent until proven guilty. But that is something to take a look at,” Mike Robinson added.

A vote did not take place on Tuesday. The next meeting is scheduled for Oct. 1. FOP leadership vowed to protest again.

NBC10 is a broadcast partner of KYW Newsradio.