Nazareth Residents Defend Police Chief

How can you run a police department with two full-time officers?

It's a legitimate question and one that a lot of Nazareth residents are asking these days.

As the fight over the future of borough policing continues, some residents are rallying around Police Chief Thomas Trachta, saying that the Borough Council is making him the scapegoat.

"The council passes the buck onto the police chief," one resident stated at Monday night's Borough Council meeting. "The chief has no say. You're blaming him for all the issues. It's very obvious at every meeting."

"We're all blaming the chief because he can't schedule two full-time officers," the resident stated about one officer working weekend duty. "That would put the other officer at a safety risk with no backup."

Borough Council members, over Thursday's worksession and Monday's regular meeting, complained about Trachta's handling of overtime, using part-time personnel and scheduling officers so that the borough police have coverage over the weekend, especially at night.

Meanwhile, the Borough Council is awaiting a proposal from Colonial Regional Police to oversee borough police operations. The council set a deadline to receive a proposal in time for its June 27 worksession.

"You want it to work like a miracle. It's like we have multiple officers," the resident continued. "The chief gets the brunt of this. He has no say."

At Thursday's worksession, resident Rick Troxell also came to the chief's aid regarding scheduling.

"We've gotten a bad name in the Leigh Valley," said Troxell, who is running for council in November. "I don't understand the logic. This has been going on for three years."

Trachta confirmed that he does control the police schedule.

"Normally 80 percent of a police department is full-timers," he said. "But it's totally upside down in Nazareth. "We're borrowing other cops to work for us. We're upside down. We don't have our own people."

During his report, Trachta publicly thanked State Police for assisting the borough's police department over the past few years.

"It started out as temporary," the chief said. "Unfortunately, it's turned out more permanent for all concerned."

Trachta stressed to residents to "be patient" for State Police to arrive if called upon.

"State Police are not in the borough," he said. "They may be coming from a distance."