With a lawsuit looming over the Town Council’s decision not to renew the current chief’s contract and an election next week, Fenwick Island has announced the hiring of a new police chief.
Michael Morrissey has accepted the town’s offer and will begin as Fenwick Island Chief of Police on Sept. 1, according to a news release from the southernmost Delaware beach town. He was a Wilmington Police Department officer from 1989 to 2009 and then an officer for the Amtrak Police Department, the release said.
Current Chief John Devlin was notified his contract would not be renewed by Mayor Natalie Madgeburger on May 1. No explanation was given at the time, nor has it been since, with Madgeburger continuously declining to comment except to say the decision was the result of an April 28 Town Council executive session.
Background:Will the battle between Fenwick Island mayor and outgoing police chief end up in court?
The controversy
Wilmington attorney Thomas Neuberger authored an email to the Town Council in June demanding they reverse the decision. The email claimed the non-renewal of Devlin’s contract was made in retaliation after Devlin reported Madgeburger for “illegally” entering the Police Department on April 23.
While Devlin was away at a police conference, the email claims, Madgeburger entered two different security codes to access the Police Department, which houses six Delaware Criminal Justice Information System computers. She was then “escorted out” by officers, according to the email. Devlin reported the incident “to the appropriate state officials” the next day, Neuberger wrote.
Madgeburger said she went to the department to obtain a schedule and did not access computers. She said she used only one code and an officer opened the second door.
Background:Longtime Fenwick police chief’s contract not renewed. He says he has ‘no indication’ why
“For years, members of town council and town staff have had access to the town’s police building through the use of a security door code. Chief Devlin had personally provided the mayor with the security door code to gain access to the building and had shown her how to use it,” Madgeburger said in a statement.
Whether the Delaware Criminal Justice Information System is investigating the incident is unknown. The agency’s Executive Director Spencer Price said in an email he could not comment on “specific situations.” The agency declined to fulfill a Freedom of Information Act request for information on recent security breaches, citing the exclusion of investigatory files from the scope of FOIA.
When asked for comment on the hiring of a new chief in Fenwick Island, Neuberger’s response was brief but clear.
“Unless a new Town Council is elected in August to fix this all, homeowners can expect a large increase in their property taxes to pay for the seven-figure jury award that is coming after the chief sues the town and the council,” he said when reached by phone.
The election
Fenwick Island residents, who number only about 350, will vote on four Town Council positions Saturday, Aug. 5.
The seats of Madgeburger, Jacqueline Napolitano, Janice Bortner and Paul Breger are all up for grabs. Breger has not filed for reelection, but the rest face challengers John Gary Burch, Kristina Clark, Bernie Merritt, James C. Simpson III and Kurt Zanelotti.
As for Morrissey, the Town Council believes his background will serve Fenwick’s “policing priorities,” such as speed enforcement and crosswalk safety on Coastal Highway, according to the news release. During his interview, the news release said, he offered a 90-day plan for addressing those issues.
So that his transition into the position will be “seamless,” the news release said, Morrissey will soon become a “public safety liaison” to the Town Council prior to becoming chief.
Shannon Marvel McNaught reports on Sussex County and beyond. Reach her at smcnaught@gannett.com or on Twitter @MarvelMcNaught
