Tullytown Council Dismisses Police Chief Days Before Probation Period Ends

Tullytown Borough Council voted to fire the town’s police chief just days before his probationary period ended.

At an intense meeting Wednesday evening, the council voted 4-2 to dismiss Chief Michael Martin, who started in May.

The council didn’t give a reason for the firing of the chief of the small town department, but statements by council members indicated it has been coming for some time.

Council Member Bryan Servis, who voted to fire the chief, told the public the borough wasn’t going to announce the reason for the firing because it was a personnel issue.

Council Member Nina Chrzanowski, who was against firing the chief, said rumors have swirled since August that the chief was going to be removed from his job.

Area law enforcement officials from outside of Tullytown Borough confirmed to LevittownNow.com that rumors about the chief’s future surfaced in the area over the past two months.

The borough had until Friday to decide if they were going to keep the chief, or fire him before his probation period ended.

Martin told LevittownNow.com he had to “disagree” with the decision to get rid of him, and he said the entire council had been supportive during his first three months.

“I put the police department first,” he said.

Martin, who previously was a commander in the Trenton Police Department, alleged that some members of council had asked him to undertake actions that “were not legal.” He declined to discuss those allegations further until he spoke with his attorney.

In speaking of his time leading the department, Martin said he had increased the productivity of officers and increased traffic enforcement.

Officer Nate Aldsworth, a veteran of the department, spoke at public comment and issued a number of complaints about Martin and said he was overworking him. He also stated he was forced to work night shifts by himself and that his schedule impaired his ability to help a sick family member.

The officer made the statement that he worked eight nights straight and then the chief told him to thank him for a night off. Aldsworth added that he worked nights while four to five officers were assigned to day work.

“The situation in this police department is not good. Morale is not good,” Aldsworth said.

Officer Ed Wallace spoke out against the chief and said his requests to have days off have been denied.

Wallace said he wanted more time off with his newborn son and Martin denied it. He did note he was given the 10 days off, as required by the police contract, but he was not allowed to use additional time, which has to be used by the end of the year.

Speaking in response to the comments by Aldsworth and Wallace, Chrzanowski said the department needed more officers.

One problem for the department has been its design – a mix of full-time and part-time officers. While full-time officers can be mandated to work shifts and overtime, the chief does not have the ability to force part-time officers to work additional shifts if they are unable or don’t want to.

Martin said he believes the department needs more full-time officers.

The meeting was tense with members of the public calling out, and one off-duty officer having to be calmed down by Aldsworth. Council members hurled jabs at one another during the discussion.

Chrzanowski and Council Member Matt Pirolli, who was against firing the chief, stated they had been frozen out of personnel discussions on the police department.

Aldsworth was accused of calling out of work to attend Sunday Philadelphia Eagles’ games, a fact which he confirmed during public comment. The officer defended his actions as needing time off and the chief wouldn’t grant it.

Aldsworth said Martin never missed a Penn State game.

Martin later responded by stating he wasn’t required to work weekends and could attend the games.

Following the meeting, Martin said Aldsworth’s admission that he called out to attend the football games is problematic. He stated he would be reporting the admission to the Bucks County District Attorney’s Office for untruthfulness, which could cause future problems.

“I wish him good luck in the future,” said Mayor David Cutchineal, adding Martin “did a great job here.”

Martin’s daughters both spoke in support of their father, stating he had a good moral compass and put Tullytown Borough first.

Several residents spoke in support of Martin.

Some audience members questioned Martin’s leadership.

There was a group of several officers, who did not speak at public comment, but were in attendance to support Martin.

Chrzanowski stated she worried there were Pennsylvania Sunshine Act violations related to the decision to fire the chief.

“I’m going to look into it,” she said.

Aldsworth was appointed to be the borough’s acting chief.

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