On Thursday morning, Lansdale Police said Devlin’s extensive experience, proven leadership, and lifelong connection to the Lansdale community made this appointment an outstanding choice
Lansdale Borough Council Wednesday night officially appointed Ryan Devlin as Chief of Police of Lansdale Borough, succeeding Mike Trail, who left the post to oversee Norristown Police Department.
The vote to appoint Devlin was 5-3, with Council President Meg Currie Teoh, Council Vice President Rafia Razzak and Councilman Garry Herbert dissenting. Councilman Mike Yetter was absent from the meeting. Supporting votes were from Councilmen
“As I stated last night, I believe Acting Chief Devlin was a excellent candidate for the role of Chief of Police," Herbert said Thursday afternoon. “However, I voted against the motion because I felt a more comprehensive vetting process was needed for such an important and prominent role in our community. Part of the hiring process should be a formalized opportunity to compare and contrast candidates to understand what strengths and weaknesses they may bring to our community or, at a bare minimum, the opportunity to discover what each final candidate prioritizes and values in their journey through policing and how that might align with our community’s perspective."
Herbert, the former borough mayor, said, in this instance, council did not have that opportunity, despite having already gathered resumes for that intended purpose.
"That being said, I am positive that Ryan will do a great job and I look forward to working with him as a councilman," Herbert said.
Teoh said her opposing vote was a reflection of her confidence in the well thought-out process that was already underway.
"Council put a significant amount of effort into creating a process that was respectful to the gravity of the appointment and the importance of the role, and hopscotching right over that was both disrespectful to all of the applicants and did a disservice to Chief Devlin by not giving him to the opportunity to be fairly measured against a broad range of candidates," Teoh said.
"I believe he could very well have emerged as the leader, but in a much stronger position, instead of being as blindsided as everyone else by abruptly being appointed at 9 o’clock at night," she said. "My opposition to this vote had little to do with him, and much to do with the impromptu nature of this important step."
Teoh said Devlin will be a terrific chief.
"I very much look forward to partnering with him to continue the forward momentum of the Lansdale Police Department," Teoh said.
In a release Thursday morning, Lansdale Police said Devlin’s extensive experience, proven leadership, and lifelong connection to the Lansdale community made this appointment an outstanding choice.
“He has been a trusted colleague and a respected mentor, whose guidance, dedication, and commitment have made a lasting impact on both the residents he serves and the officers he supports,” the department said.
Devlin has served the Lansdale Borough Police Department with distinction since 1996, when he began his career as a part-time officer, according to the department.
Two years later, he was hired full-time and has since devoted three decades to protecting and serving the community.
Devlin was promoted to sergeant in 2011 and to lieutenant in 2018. He has been a member of the Montgomery County SWAT Central Team since 2000 and currently serves as the team’s Commander.
As lieutenant, Devlin led the department’s successful effort to achieve its first-ever accreditation through the Pennsylvania Law Enforcement Accreditation Commission in under 10 months, police said.
Devlin also played a key role in the department’s most recent reaccreditation process, which requires a comprehensive PLEAC assessment every three years. In October 2024, the department successfully completed this process and was re-accredited under Devlin’s leadership.
“Chief Devlin has the support of the entire police department, and under his new leadership, the department is poised for an exciting future of service, safety, and community engagement,” the department said in a release.
According to Councilman Andrew Carroll, Devlin's promotion is pending a contract and approval from labor counsel.
