CATASAUQUA, Pa. — A month after a state agency outlined numerous and critical problems within Catasauqua Police Department, Chief Douglas Kish retired on Friday.
Kish's retirement was confirmed on Monday by borough Councilman Brian Bartholomew, who said the former chief did not give a reason for his retirement.
Officer John Wiseman, a 21-year member of the police department, has been designated interim chief.
Kish was chosen police chief in June 2003. He began his career in law enforcement as a part-time officer in Catasauqua in October 1977.
The lack of an updated police manual poses the “most serious threat” to Catasauqua Police Department. The manual "has resulted in a potentially serious if not catastrophic liability exposure for the police officers, agency leaders and municipal leadership."Report by David Steffen, a recently retired police chief in Pennsylvania, who is employed by the Governor’s Center for Local Government Services, an agency of the state’s Department of Community and Economic Development.
The report was initiated by borough council officials. It was conducted by David Steffen, a recently retired police chief in Pennsylvania, who is employed by the Governor’s Center for Local Government Services, an agency of the state’s Department of Community and Economic Development.
Steffen’s study reviewed staffing, administration, peer-to-peer review and utilization of the police department.
The voluminous report was critical of the police department under Kish’s watch. Chief among the problems was a police manual that has not been updated since it was established in 1981.
The study determined that the lack of an updated police manual poses the “most serious threat” to the department.
The manual "has resulted in a potentially serious if not catastrophic liability exposure for the police officers, agency leaders and municipal leadership,” according to the study.
Kish’s retirement comes a week after the borough appointed an independent contractor, Gerard Gallagher, as its police consultant.
Gallagher is charged with developing a blueprint on addressing the problems uncovered in the state study.
