Police Chief in Fenwick Island Looks to be Reinstated in Demand Letter to Town

FENWICK ISLAND, Del. - Police Chief, John Devlin has filed a demand letter to the town of Fenwick Island calling for them to reinstate him when his contract is up or he will take legal action.

In an interview with Coast TV following that decision Chief Devlin said he was blindsided. 

"I was left in the dark, nobody told me anything before they made this decision," Devlin said. 

Prior to the announcement of not renewing his contract, Chief Devlin and Mayor Natalie Magdeburger butted heads over speed traps, which Devlin did not want to do. There was an alleged security breach by the Mayor at the police station but the town released a statement in response to that allegation and more saying,

"The Mayor entered the police building to secure a schedule so she could ride with police officers to learn more about their duties and how they were handling Route 1 safety issues...Chief Devlin has not been terminated rather, council unanimously decided to forgo exercising the town's option, per the Chief's employment agreement."

Some in town, like Tim Collins, support Chief Devlin and he said transparency from the town is needed and  he thinks Devlin should keep his job as Chief.

"Can't the town make some public statement and let the residents know what's going on with why they don't want to renew the Chief's contract, because otherwise people are going to draw their own conclusions and the Chief has spoken out on this and the town hasn't," Collins said. 

It's gotten to where a Go Fund Me page has been started for Chief Devlin's legal fees but the town remains adamant that there is more to the story.

Chief Devlin's attorney made a statement to Coast TV stating that if Chief Devlin isn't reinstated, the town and its council members will be, "sued for hundreds and thousands of dollars in damages". 

The Town of Fenwick Island said they would love to reveal discussions had with the Chief and an explanation for their reasoning behind not renewing his contract but, "they will not respond publicly at this time because it's not in the best interest of the town or Chief Devlin".