Public comment prompted end of Lansdale police chief search

A resident comment at a recent council meeting prompted lengthy debate, spurring a title change for one of Lansdale’s longest-serving public officials.

That debate was triggered by a public comment asking council whether a full search was necessary before selecting Ryan Devlin, longtime Lansdale police lieutenant, to be the town’s next permanent chief.

“I would like to ask someone on council, possibly during new business tonight, to have the gumption to submit a motion to remove the ‘interim’ tag off of Chief Devlin’s name,” said resident Mike Sarnocinski during the Jan. 21 council meeting.

Last August Norristown hired as its chief then-Lansdale Chief Mike Trail, ending a tenure in Lansdale for Trail that started in 2002. In early September, the chief recommended council name as his successor Devlin, a Lansdale native who joined the department in 1996. Council approved a start date of Nov. 1 for Devlin as acting chief, a date subsequently advanced to early October as Trail took over the top spot in Norristown.

Comment sparks debate

“He deserves it. He’s been a police officer here for 30 years. He’s lived in the borough most of his life. So, I hope one of you has the gumption to do that, if not tonight then at the next meeting,” Sarnocinski said, of making Devlin the permanent replacement as chief.

After other council business, councilman BJ Breish replied to the resident: “I do have gumption – I’d like to talk more about making our acting chief more official.”              

“When I listen to the public comment tonight, and think about all the other comments that I’ve received, unsolicited, from the community, and think about the fact that I’m here to serve the community, and what the community needs — I am more than happy to bring up a motion,” Breish said.

Councilman Andrew Carroll replied that he would be “proud to second” that motion, prompting council President Meg Currie Teoh to ask borough manager John Ernst to give an update on the hiring process for the post. As of that night, the manager said, staff had received 19 resumes and applications for the chief position and had been working with three consulting chiefs and a search team from council to vet those applicants.

“They’ve been asked to provide a summary numbering system for the resumes, so that we can provide a top ten list, so to speak, and then we’ll go through that list to come up with a group of candidates” ranked highest for further interviews, with a goal of starting those interviews in February, Ernst said.

Breish countered by asking if that search process was needed.

‘Is that process necessary?’

“Is it necessary? The community knows what they want. We’re hearing it loud and clear, at least I am. Is that process necessary?” he said.

The manager then answered that council could choose to bypass the search process if a majority chose to do so, and solicitor Patrick Hitchens raised two issues, advising that the borough consult with labor counsel instead of their general solicitor “to make sure there are no issues or concerns” about the hiring, and that they be wary of doing so under “New business”.

“Under the Sunshine Act, there’s language that requires you to specifically list things on your agenda, so that the public is aware of what action you may be taking,” the attorney said.

His suggestion was that council first vote to open that night’s meeting agenda to add the proposal as an action item, vote to add the item, then hold a vote on the new item.

“Seems a bit cumbersome, but that is unfortunately what the law requires,” he said.

Breish then said he’d follow that procedure, motioning to open the agenda, then to appoint Devlin to the permanent position “pending review by labor counsel, on the legality, and contract negotiations — and see how it goes.”

Councilman Garry Herbert said he thought Devlin was “a worthy candidate,” but pointed out that councilman Mike Yetter and Mayor Rachel Bollens were absent from the meeting, and that the mayor’s role he held until January is the nominal head of the department and would work closely with that chief.

‘This is an important vote’

“I am sure she should and wants to have a voice,” Herbert said: “This is an important vote…and I don’t know that doing it tonight with an un-full body would be appropriate. If it passes, it passes, but some consideration for your missing colleagues might be appropriate.”

Sarnocinski asked how much the town had spent on a chief search so far, and Ernst answered that the town had expended “just staff time” and no formal cost from the outside chiefs who have helped with the search effort.  After comments closed, Teoh asked if council had any new business, and Breish said “Let’s give it a try” and made a motion to name Devlin the permanent chief.

“We would still have to do the contract negotiations and finalize all that stuff. It would still be pending — it wouldn’t be officially official, but it moves the needle. It basically closes the search process,” he said.

Fuller seconded, and Hitchens clarified that the motion would appoint Devin “subject to a future contract,” which Breish echoed: “What he said.” Council then voted five-to-three to open the agenda for that motion, with Herbert, Teoh and councilwoman Rafia Razzak casting the only votes against, then took up the debate on the motion itself.

Fuller thanked Sarnocinski for bringing the topic up and said council has “individually, and collectively,” heard from residents and officers who back Devlin fully, which she said she had not seen in the prior search that led to Trail taking the post.

“I have not seen the outpouring of support that I have seen for Acting Chief Devlin. So I support that appointment,” she said.

Councilwoman Carrie Oglesby said she’d also back doing so: “I don’t see why we would waste the time or effort, or staff time which does cost money, to go through a search process. What are we looking for? Chief Devlin has all of the qualifications: he’s SWAT commander, he’s been an active member of our department with various accolades for the last 30 years.”

Ernst said as manager, he had “worked very hard to create a culture of teamwork” among department heads, and has seen Devlin be “a true teammate for us.”

“The relationship between the police chief and the municipal manager is one of the most important in the organization. And I would suggest the relationship that Ryan and I have worked on, not only over the years before he was interim chief, but since he’s been interim chief, has been one of complete cooperation, working together, and trying to keep each other informed about what we are all doing,” he said.

‘Disrepectful of process’

Teoh added her own perspective, saying her vote against an immediate appointment was “not a no vote on Acting Chief Devlin himself,” but due to concerns over the process, and how residents could see the appointment

“I think this does him a disservice. It is disrespectful of the process. It skips the many steps of vetting him, and holding him up against many other candidates, to show that he has truly earned this position,” Teoh said.

“I think Acting Chief Devlin has quite a lot going for him. I would like to give him the respect of going through the process properly, and being able to say that he got this job the right way. That’s my two cents: my no vote is not a reflection on you,” she said.

Breish answered by saying he thought an appointment for Devlin was “the right decision,” and understood the desire for more vetting.

“To me, the fact that the community has resoundingly come forward to support him, and go out of their way to tell me: ‘What are you doing? Just make him the chief, he deserves it, he’s earned it.’ 30 years with the department? He’s vetted, he’s been vetted, he’s been as vetted as anybody could be. He’s earned this position,” Breish said.

Herbert made the case against acting too soon, saying he thought Devlin was “an exceptional candidate,” and shared what he saw from his work with the department during his two terms as mayor: “Every single officer earns every single promotion. Test, questions, answers, they do the work to get to that next job, and there’s a process for it, and they earn every step of that. And I struggle to get to a place where this particular promotion is not subject to that.”

“I respect the hell out of you, I really do. And I want you to earn it. I want you to really showcase all of the skills that you have, ’cause I know you have them. I want to see that,” he said.

Herbert added that the candidate list he had seen so far included candidates who were currently chiefs at other departments, locally and across the country, “and I know you can stand toe to toe with them.”

“I want to see you earn it. It has nothing to do with you not being qualified, you not being a good candidate, none of that. I believe in all of that. But I also want to see you go through it. So I am going to vote no tonight, because I want to complete the process that we began,” he said.

Fuller countered by saying she’s heard from plenty of residents who think Devlin has had enough vetting, and hadn’t seen such a response in her decade and a half on council.

“I’ve been up here a number of years, and I’ve not seen the support for anybody’s position, that I have seen and received for Acting Chief Devlin. The public, the (police) department, 100 percent in favor of this, the number of letters that are shared with all of us, unsolicited letters from surrounding area police chiefs, also wanting to work with Acting Chief Devlin from throughout the community,” she said. “The constituency that we’ve been elected to serve, wants this choice made.”

Public share support

One last round of public comments followed: Sarnocinski said he didn’t intend to “cause consternation” among council, but also did not want to see time and effort spent on a result council could predict, before comparing it to a traffic study conducted by the town’s traffic engineer in 2024.

“Supposedly the number was $26,000 or $28,000 spent, and Chief Trail and all the officers knew where all the (problem) areas were that had to be addressed,” he said. “If we can do it without checking the boxes, get it done tonight, I think you’ll all be thankful later.”

Resident Alan Fuller said he thought a choice could help set an example of fiscal responsibility: “You’ve talked about the economic situation of the community, and how we cannot be squandering money. Here’s your first chance, because everybody knows who the right candidate is.” Herbert replied that in the last chief search, the town spent “tens of thousands” of taxpayer funds, but the current search was being done cooperatively with other chiefs, carrying “no expectation that there would be extensive spending” on this search.

Sue Sarnocinski asked community members to have conversations with Devlin and judge for themselves.

“He just lights up, talking about this community. He loves Lansdale Borough, absolutely loves it. His face just shines.  Isn’t that what we would like in our community? A police chief who loves our community, and wants to protect us? That’s good enough for me,” Sue said.

Former councilman Bill Henning added his own support: “I’ve worked with Devlin for years, for numerous reasons, and he’s always been the utmost professional. The pride in Lansdale shows in him, which is a major strong point.”

“We have a rare specimen here. I don’t want to see us lose him, for any reason,” Henning said.

And former councilwoman Anne Henning Scheuring said she’s known Devlin “a long time, and Lansdale is what he cares about. All we hear is, let’s have Ryan as the chief. He cares about Lansdale, he’s been here 30 years, he knows what he’s doing, his team loves him. All of the residents I’ve spoken to, I haven’t heard one that has not supported him.”

Following those comments, Teoh called for a vote, and Devlin’s new title was approved by a five-to-three vote, with Teoh, Herbert, and Razzak casting the only votes against, prompting a round of hugs and handshakes with the new chief.

“The ayes have it. Congratulations, Chief Devlin, and welcome — to this place where you’ve been for decades. We look forward to continuing to work with you,” Teoh said.

Devlin himself took the microphone last, saying he was “shocked” by the appointment and grateful to hear the support.

“This town has provided me everything: my family lived here, I met my wife at Clemens Markets, I delivered papers for The Reporter newspaper. I’ve been part of this town for 40-some years, and I love it. I appreciate all the comments from the crowd, department heads, council people. I am truly blessed, I’m humbled, I’m excited, I’m scared now, but I appreciate the confidence council has in me — I can’t believe it, this is crazy,” Devlin said.

Lansdale’s borough council next meets at 8:30 p.m. on Feb. 4 and 7 p.m. on Feb. 18, both at the borough municipal building, 1 Vine Street. For more information visit www.Lansdale.org.

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