Donora Council terminates police superintendent
John F. Brothers/For the Observer-Reporter
Donora Police Chief Jim Brice checks the log of incidents captured by the video monitoring equipment installed throughout Donora Borough in a file photo from 2016.
A capacity crowd attended Monday's special meeting of Donora council, which was moved to the banquet room of the borough building.
The crowd at Monday's special meeting of Donora Council waits while council meets in executive session.
Donora Police Superintendent James Brice was terminated by council in a special meeting Monday.
A motion to approve an undisclosed statement of charges against Brice and terminate him received “yes” votes from council President Michael McDowell and council members P. Jane Ackerman, Gilbert Szakal Jr. and Joseph Greco. Thomas Thompson voted against the motion. Cynthia Brice, James Brice’s wife, abstained. Fred Berestecky was not in attendance.
Brice’s termination did not sit well with many in attendance, as shouts of “No!” rang out when the motion was initially made. The meeting was moved to the banquet hall of the borough building because of the capacity crowd.
“It’s a very sad day in Donora,” said resident Donna Rodriguez after the meeting. “You can walk the streets at midnight and feel safe. Not anymore. He’s loved and respected.”
“This is a farce,” said resident Bishop Wilson as he addressed council. “I once (took pride) that this was a great community. It still can be, but what you guys are doing is running it into the ground.”
Actions concerning Brice have stirred emotions in the past, and Monday was no different, as McDowell used his gavel a few times to try to bring order to the proceedings.
Residents wanted to know why Brice was being terminated and the charges against him.
“They cannot give you the statement of charges,” said attorney Christopher Gabriel, who is representing the borough in the matter. “It’s a personnel matter. The person accused of the charges has a right to have them private. It’s his choice, it’s not theirs. That’s why they can’t give them to you.”
There was anger expressed as the relatively short meeting adjourned after Wilson, the lone resident to speak, addressed council. There was a signup sheet that contained the names of others who wanted to speak.
Residents tried to confront council members, and McDowell was escorted to his car by a police officer.
Mayor Donald Pavelko said Greco has wanted Brice to be removed from his position for more than two years.
“It looks like he’s well on the way to it,” Pavelko said. “I didn’t reiterate (Monday), but I will, at the next meeting that the mayor runs the police department. I will continue to run it as I see fit, with the advice of Chief (Neal) Rands.”
When contacted Tuesday, Greco denied Pavelko’s claim.
“I’m used to that,” he said. “They seem to blame it on me. They don’t realize it’s a majority vote. They don’t realize that there’s four others on council that agree with the same thing that I agree with. It’s not like I’m the only one there.”
Cynthia Brice said the next step in the process will be taken, as James Brice has the right to appeal Monday’s action.
“It’s in the hands of our attorney, and we’ll have to go through the process,” she said.
Rands explained that the action handcuffs an already short-staffed police department.
“I just hoped for a different outcome,” Rands said after the meeting, adding that he has worked with Brice for 33 years. “I thought they’d take into account all of the community service he does, his unblemished record all of these years. This puts a burden on us. We’re down three full-time guys. We’ll have to regroup and try to fill the schedule.”
Council voted to place Brice on paid administrative leave at its Aug. 11 meeting.
The next day, control of the police department’s evidence room and any evidence and police files it contains were transferred to the Washington County district attorney’s office by order of Washington County Judge Michael Lucas.
District Attorney Jason Walsh filed an emergency petition for the transfer, citing concerns that the evidence room was padlocked by council and the only keys were held by James Brice and Greco.
On Aug. 17, Pavelko, Thompson and Cynthia Brice filed suit against the borough and the remainder of council claiming that the Sunshine Act was violated with respect to an Aug. 10 Loudermill Hearing held concerning James Brice’s status and the hiring of Gabriel to investigate and conduct the hearing.
Gabriel refuted that claim last week, saying information in the lawsuit was “inaccurate.”
Brice has been with the department since 1980 and has been police superintendent for 33 years.