Fieldsboro Borough Council dismisses police Lt. John McElwee, who at the time of his suspension last September, was the borough’s lone officer.
By: Scott Morgan
FIELDSBORO The Borough Council last week dismissed its suspended police lieutenant after eight months of administrative difficulties.
The council’s decision to fire police Lt. John McElwee, who was suspended with pay last September, came during its July 14 meeting at the behest of case hearing officer George Heuber. According to Mayor Edward Tyler, Mr. Heuber recommended the dismissal the day prior to the meeting.
While Mayor Tyler could not discuss the specifics of the decision, he said the council felt Lt. McElwee simply did not perform his job adequately.
"All we’re interested in," Mayor Tyler said, "is to have the man work. In our opinion he certainly did not do that."
The matter was handled through an internal hearing presided over by Mr. Heuber, who serves as township manager in Maple Shade. Lt. McElwee has the right to appeal the outcome in court, something Mayor Tyler said he expects will happen.
Though Lt. McElwee could not be reached for comment this week, he has previously said that the case against him was based in personal differences with Mayor Tyler.
"The mayor’s just trying to get rid of me (because) he thinks I’ve been there too long," the lieutenant said in May, when legal briefs for the case were filed in Fieldsboro. While Mayor Tyler insisted the move stemmed from a bad work ethic, Lt. McElwee said the mayor "wanted me to do everything" over a 24-hour day without another officer on the force.
"I can’t be there 24/7," he said.
Mr. McElwee’s attorney, Robert Incollingo of Cherry Hill, did not return calls to the Register-News.
In May, Mayor Tyler said the council wanted to move toward termination for several reasons, namely not filing crime data and police activity reports, which affects the borough’s ability to apply for state and federal grants that are based on the results of such data. The mayor also cited the lieutenant’s suspected use of a departmental cell phone for personal reasons, something Lt. McElwee denied.
At the time of his suspension, Lt. McElwee was the borough’s only officer. Since then, the borough has hired two officers who, along with the state police, have been patrolling Fieldsboro. Mayor Tyler said the council soon will decide whether to hire a new lieutenant to run the department or promote one of its current officers and hire a new patrol officer.
Mayor Tyler did say, however, that the council strongly favors hiring a public safety director to run the department’s administrative arm. The mayor said he favors a public safety director over a chief of police because the former gives the borough more control.
Before coming to Fieldsboro in 2001, Lt. McElwee served aschief of the Pemberton Borough Police Department. He has served as an instructor at the Burlington County Police Academy. County spokesman Ralph Shrom said Lt. McElwee is listed on the academy’s roster through the end of this year.