East Bethlehem Township police department to be dismantled
The East Bethlehem Township commissioners voted to dismantle the township’s police department for financial reasons effective Aug. 15, according to a letter from the board president.
The township will then contract with a regional police department for police coverage, the letter said.
Commissioners voted May 10 to disband the department “for purely economic reasons,” township commissioner president Joseph M. Swinchock wrote in the letter. He wrote that the new contract “will result in substantial budgetary savings to the township and its taxpayers.”
The commissioners will meet with police Chief Mark Pompe to determine the status of pending cases and ensure a smooth transition to the new police force, Swinchock said.
The Washington County township is divided into four districts which include Vestaburg, Millsboro, Fredericktown and Clarksville.