Richard Pickles.jpg
In 2009, Richard Pickles, a Harrisburg police officer, speaks to a neighborhood group.
(file photo)
A Perry County police chief has been laid off for "personnel" reasons, said the chairman of the Penn Township supervisors.
The supervisors voted 2-1 Wednesday night to lay off Chief Richard Pickles at the end of the day Friday, said Brian Peters, chairman of the supervisors.
Supervisor Joseph Landis was appointed police administrator to oversee the transition and reorganization of the police department. Landis abstained from that vote.
Pickles, 63, has been chief since January 2012. He did not return a telephone call Thursday.
Peters said that Pickle's status is "a personnel matter. I cannot release anything."
Voting in favor of laying off the chief were Peters and Landis, with Supervisor Brian Maguire voting against.
Landis is a retired police officer who had 29 years of service, and had been the board's liaison with the police department. The supervisors have recommended he be paid $17 per hour, but the township auditors have to approve his salary, Peters said.
Peters said the board is committed to maintaining the police department, which has eight part-time officers. The township also plans to continue providing police services for a fee to Duncannon, he said.
Pickles weathered many storms during his police career, which included nearly five years in Penn Township.
In July 2013, he was charged with DUI in Susquehanna Township, and placed in the ARD program. He completed the ARD requirements and remained chief, and was not disciplined by the township, said attorney Paul Richard Wagner, who represented Pickles in the case.
Also in 2015, Pickles was mentioned in the grand jury report of former Mayor Stephen Reed. During the period in which he was a Harrisburg police officer, he went on three trips to pick up Wild West artifacts Reed had bought, said the report.
Also during Pickles' career in Harrisburg he was fired in 1983 after fatally shooting a man he thought was reaching for a gun after a pursuit. He was reinstated in 1988 after court rulings overturned the firing.
Pickles served as Harrisburg police chief one month in December 2009 in a lame-duck appointment by Reed. He retired from the department in January 2010.
Peters said that as part of the Penn Township police reorganization, supervisors will have to determine which positions will be filled, including the chief.
A consultant was hired at a cost not to exceed $10,000 to conduct a non-financial "audit" of the department, including its policies and operating procedures, Peters said.
The study did not prompt lay-off of the chief, Peters said, adding that the audit has not yet been completed.
"With the current environment around the country, we thought it would be prudent to review policies and procedures and not get ourselves in trouble like other places in the country," Peters said.
Peters said the lay-off is also not related to complaints aired recently at Duncannon's borough council meeting.
Duncannon Councilman Darryl Croutharmel, chairman of the borough's public safety committee, said three people voiced complaints last month about how Chief Pickles operates the department. They were asked to provide their comments in writing, but have not done so, he said.
Croutharmel said Duncannon has been in discussions with Penn Township regarding a new contract for its purchase of services. Cost and coverage are coverage issues still to be finalized, he said.
Chris Courogen, Duncannon manager, said the borough has made an offer to Penn Township and the township made a counter-offer, and talks continue.
"We're trying to make it fairer to residents of the borough," Courogen said, with budget constraints facing Duncannon.