FENWICK ISLAND, Del. - The Town of Fenwick Island has announced that its job offer to a new police chief has been accepted. Michael Morrissey will become the town's new chief of police effective Sept. 1 and brings over 33 years of experience.
Morrissey began his police career in 1989 with the City of Wilmington Police Department, where he served in the patrol, internal affairs and community policing divisions. He also served as the department's liaison with the Delaware Office of Highway Safety, writing grants and managing traffic safety programs like Click It or Ticket.
After retiring from Wilmington in 2009, Morrissey worked for the Amtrak Police Department in supervisory and management roles in the patrol and criminal investigations divisions.
He has been a part-time resident in Fenwick Island with his family for the past 20 years and recently moved to Dagsboro with his wife. They have two children attending college in California and Alabama.
To aid in the transition, Morrissey will wrap up his work for Amtrak and begin working in Fenwick Island as a public safety liaison to the town council before taking on the position of chief in September.
This transition follows a conflict between the town and its current police chief, John Devlin. The town has previously said that it issued a notice of nonrenewal on May 1 to Devlin and that it expected him to continue in his job duties in a professional manner as he finishes his term. It specified that his employment was not terminated, though it initially declined to comment further.
Devlin then submitted a letter to the town, calling for the council to reinstate him at the end of his contract. Otherwise, he told CoastTV, he would pursue legal action. Devlin believes he was nonrenewed due to a disagreement with Fenwick Island Mayor Natalie Magdeburger about speed traps.
Magdeburger allegedly gained unauthorized access to the police station in late April, creating a security breach, though the town has since issued a statement denying the accusations. The town has said the mayor visited the building to obtain a copy of officer schedules to plan ride-alongs and used a door code given to her by Devlin to enter the building. Once inside, the town says she was escorted by officers and did not seek access to information contained in the Delaware Criminal Justice Information System.