Longtime Lawman Takes On Chief Job In Langhorne

Langhorne Borough’s new chief of police is settling in to his new position.

With only two days under his belt, he’s already begun meeting his friendly neighbors and dealt with a power outage that plunged a portion of the borough of 1,600 into darkness Tuesday.

Chief John Godzieba took the reins of the department Monday and will be recognized by the Langhorne Borough Council Wednesday evening. He comes to the borough with 38 years of experience from his career with Bristol Township police.

Godzieba, who portrays General George Washington as part of his volunteer efforts at Washington Crossing Historic Park, was hired by the borough after former Chief Steve Mawhinney moved on to a new job leading the Bucks County Rangers. Mawhinney previously worked with Godzieba in Bristol Township before coming to Langhorne.

The new chief studied chemical engineering at Drexel University before taking criminal justice classes at Temple University. The Philadelphia native began in Bristol Township 38 years ago and worked his way up to K-9 officer, lieutenant and acting chief for a time.

Godzieba, who lives in Middletown, said he will have to adjust working in a small town coming from Bristol Township, which has 55,000 people and around 60 officers.

“Everyone I’ve talked to has welcomed me to the community,” Godzieba said.

The longtime lawman said Mawhinney, borough officers, manager, mayor and community has been welcoming during his first days on the job.

“I love this. This is small town America,” he said.