Fenwick Island officials will not renew the contract of the town’s longtime police chief, John J. Devlin, much to his surprise.
“There was no indication, nothing,” Devlin said when reached by phone.
He was called to a meeting with Mayor Natalie Madgeburger May 1, he said, where he was handed a letter notifying him of the decision. It did not include an explanation and Madgeburger did not provide one, he said. His contract expires Aug. 31.
In a statement sent by email Tuesday, Madgeburger said the decision was the result of the town council’s April 28 executive session, but did not explain why the decision was made. A search for a new police chief has commenced, she said.
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Fenwick is a tiny Delaware beach town, with a 2020 U.S. Census population of about 343. Only about 15 blocks long, with the Atlantic Ocean on one side and Little Assawoman Bay on the other, it’s bookended by Fenwick Island State Park and Ocean City, Maryland. The town has seven full-time police officers.
The now-60-year-old Devlin worked for 10 years in the Fenwick Island Police Department before taking a different job in 2007, he said. Three years later, he returned to Fenwick and worked his way up to the position of chief.
On May 1, Devlin had just returned from a training conference in Florida. In March, he was lauded by the town council for his 20 years of service and given his own parking sign, he said.
“Just seems strange,” he said. “Praising me one month and then, the next month, saying you don’t want my services anymore.”
Shannon Marvel McNaught reports on Sussex County and beyond. Reach her at smcnaught@gannett.com or on Twitter @MarvelMcNaught
