Residents of Collingdale gathered Tuesday night for a council meeting to see if a new police chief under criminal investigation would be voted in. Instead, the council said Raheem Blanden was no longer an option for the position and then all of a sudden named a new chief. After the vote, chaos broke out about members of council not having any say in the new candidate. NBC10’s Aaron Baskerville shares more from the meeting.
The fiery controversy surrounding a local town and its police chief candidate took another turn.
Collingdale Borough Council met again on Tuesday night with the agenda including possibly appointing Rhaheem Blanden as the next police chief.
But council members announced that Blanden was no longer an option for the job. Instead, they voted to name a new chief, Shanee Mitchell, to the position.
Mitchell is the chief for Selinsgrove Police, north of Harrisburg, and is also listed as an instructor for the Penn State Justice and Safety Institute.
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Despite Michell being voted in instead of Blanden, chaos broke out, with some on the council upset because they weren’t given any information on the new candidate, including the mayor.
"Have you ever met this person? I have no idea who this person is. I just read that she’s from Philadelphia. I’m sure she’s a great chief, but why can’t we meet her and interview her ourselves?" Donna Matteo Spadea, Mayor of Collingdale, said.
The Delaware County Fraternal Order of Police made it clear they were strongly against hiring Blanden, who has been working with the Chester City Police Department for more than 15 years.
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Officials with the FOP said Blanden is under investigation by the District Attorney's Office for allegedly tipping off a wanted attempted murder suspect before a raid in April.
"I don’t know anything about a criminal investigation with CID. That’s all I know and all I have to say," Blanden said back in September.
The Delaware County District Attorney's Office confirmed with NBC10 that they have a criminal investigation ongoing into Blanden.
"I think mission accomplished, we got our point across. They didn’t hire someone who is under active investigation, and the FOP looks forward to working with the new chief," Chris Eiserman, with the Delco FOP, said.
Blanden is not a member of the Delco FOP but he is a member of the Chester City Fraternal Order of Police which did not respond to NBC10's request for comment.
