Supervisors accept Kiski Township police chief's resignation

KISKI TOWNSHIP, Pa. (KDKA) — There's a new officer in charge of the Kiskiminetas Township Police Department.

On Wednesday during a meeting, township supervisors accepted Kiski Police Chief Lee Bartolicius' resignation. He took over the department in July 2022.

Why did Lee Bartolicius resign?

Neighbors in Kiski Township said township supervisors ran on increasing transparency. On Wednesday, they said they got the opposite.

"This is all personnel matters. We're not allowed to discuss," is an answer the supervisors repeated after multiple questions from neighbors during the meeting.

"Your transparency that you ran on is as clear as mud," one resident said.

Everything centered on Bartolicius, who resigned less than two weeks after he was suspended. The board did not tell residents why he was suspended or resigning, offering only a brief comment.

"The board would like to wish former Chief Bartolicius the best in his future endeavors," said Brittany Hilliard, chair of the board of supervisors.

Neighbors asked how the board would prevent this from happening again.

"We're going to do applications, letters of interest," said Mary Long, vice chair of the board of supervisors. "We're going to do background checks."

The township's police department serves North Appollo. The mayor, June Kilgore, said she hasn't been told what happened either, but the police contract with Kiski Township would have to be renewed at the end of the year.

"I am wanting to see things improve if we are to go forward because it can't continue this way," Kilgore said. "That every two years there is a problem with the police. Please be transparent to your constituents as much as you can."

The board appointed an interim police chief and agreed to pay Bartolicius a severance. They refused to say how much it would cost or where the money would come from.

There were plenty of unanswered questions on Wednesday, leaving community members frustrated.