Local residents protest potential hire for Collingdale police chief

Local residents came together to express their anger over a controversial potential hire for the town’s police chief in Collingdale, Delaware County.

Back in June, the community pushed back when the town council voted 5-2 to remove former Police Chief Patrick Killroy who had been with the department for more than 20 years.

The Collingdale Borough Council held a meeting on Tuesday night to vote on the hiring of a new police chief, Raheem Blander.

In a statement released before the meeting, council members emphasized that the hiring process for a new chief of police is a public matter.

“The Borough Council is committed to ensuring that our hiring practices are not only lawful but also uphold the values of integrity and respect that our community deserves,” said Ryan Hastings, Borough Council President, in a statement.

Local authorities did emphasize in a statement made Tuesday afternoon that the hiring of a police chief is a public matter.

The Delaware County FOP says Blanden is on leave from his job as a police officer in Chester and is currently under active criminal investigation for allegedly “tipping off” a homicide suspect minutes before a warrant was executed.

The Delaware County District Attorney’s Office confirmed that Blanden is under investigation, according to Action News at 10 on PHL17.

The meeting grew heated and tense as local residents expressed their outrage.

“How dare you even contemplate putting someone under investigation as our chief of police when we had a damn good chief of police,” Dolores Pascale of Collingdale, Pennsylvania, said during the meeting.

“There is no way we should ever, ever think about hiring someone who is under investigation,” said Mayor Donna Matteo-Spadea.

Tuesday’s meeting peaked when Blanden reentered the building at one point and was confronted by other officers, according to Action News at 10 on PHL17.

Many expressed their anger when the council president stopped union representatives from speaking during a time slated for public comment.

That’s when the meeting went to a recess and was then abruptly canceled.

Before Blanden left the meeting, he told Action News at 10 on PHL17 that he was still ready to take the position, despite the fallout.

“I don’t know anything about a criminal investigation with the Criminal Investigation Division,” Blanden said. “I think they are making me the focal point, but this is about the council members,”

The town council is set to discuss the issue again at the next council meeting on October 1st.

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