New police chief making strides in Morrisville

George McClay knew what he was getting into.

Still, he was dumbfounded by the wallet incident.

On the first day of his new job as Morrisville Borough Police Chief last February, McClay, 52, a former Philadelphia police lieutenant, opened his desk drawer and saw the wallet, which belonged to a resident but was simply tossed in the drawer.

A few months earlier, the item had earned a special shout-out in a report documenting, among other failures, the ailing department's inability to properly catalog evidence.

McClay figured officers would have made a few fixes after reading the report. After all, how hard could it be to find a home for the wallet?

And yet, day one, there it was, unmoved.

"The first couple weeks, I sat here and just scratched my head," McClay recalled in his office on Thursday.

McClay doesn't claim to be a miracle worker. But a year into his tenure at the Bucks County department - which some considered to be among the county's most dysfunctional - onlookers seem to agree the force is moving past the era during which there was rampant infighting, a lack of basic rules, and a near-total absence of management.

"What you do is change behavior," said borough Councilman Victor Cicero, a former police chief in town. "And I think Chief McClay has done a remarkable job on that."

Cicero said McClay - who came directly from Philadelphia's 6,700-member police force - still has to adjust to the tempo and resources of a town with only 8,700 residents and 15 police officers. But "he's doing a good, professional job," Cicero said.

On Saturday, McClay dealt with his first shooting in Morrisville after an officer fired two shots at a man who allegedly backed a stolen car into him. Both were injured but had recovered, McClay said, and the perpetrator was likely to be charged. He declined to identify either man.

Over the last year, McClay said, crime is down 20 percent, drug arrests up 42 percent. Harassment lawsuits that once flew between officers have been settled, and he promoted three officers to corporal, finally establishing a real chain of command.

McClay is also trying to hold his troops accountable for once-overlooked details. The wallet, for instance, was finally returned to its owner.

Cpl. Mike Pitcher, a 10-year veteran, repeated one phrase several times in describing the last year.

"I would say 'complete turnaround,' " he said.

The picture in Morrisville wasn't always so rosy, and McClay acknowledged there was still room to grow.

Until he arrived, the department had been without a full-time chief since December 2012, when Jack Jones retired.

During the search for a replacement, the department's ongoing problems with management, procedures, and morale went unchecked. Adding to the chaos, the mayor at the time, Rita Ledger, even sued the department for allegedly denying her access to police files.

Veteran law enforcement official Frederick DeVesa wrote a blistering 12-page report detailing the dysfunction in summer 2013. He had been appointed as interim police chief but was quickly overwhelmed by the problems. He quit after two weeks, writing in his resignation letter "the political and personal divisions within the borough and department" neutered his ability to effect change.

He wrote that the department was heading toward a "tragedy or catastrophe."

By the time McClay was hired, the department still appeared on the brink of collapse.

Two officers, William Smith and Erica McIntyre, had sued each other and the department, claiming harassment. Smith alleged McIntyre exposed herself to him and asked him crude questions. McIntyre claimed Smith insulted her while she was pregnant.

The suits were settled in federal court in the fall, McClay said, with each officer receiving about $40,000. The department also instituted new work rules, such as installing cameras in headquarters and developing a harassment policy. Smith and McIntyre remain on the force but now work separately, McClay said.

Beyond the lawsuits, the chief was facing the institutional issues laid out in DeVesa's report.

The department lacked supervision and accountability, DeVesa wrote, had a rule book that was more than two decades old, had essentially no controls for storing evidence - including loaded guns - and was missing basic equipment, such as acceptable cars.

McClay said he used DeVesa's report as a guide in producing a 300-page rule book, promoting the three officers to corporal, providing a number of new training sessions, and trying to coax and cajole officers into handling new responsibilities and doing more patrol work.

He borrowed some equipment from neighboring departments, such as spare radios from Bensalem Township. And he tried to provide perks for his officers. When they got money for new uniforms, for example, McClay allowed them to choose whatever they wanted, as long as they "look sharp," he said.

"You treat people like professionals," he said, and "you get back what you invest in them."

Ken Coluzzi, police chief of neighboring Lower Makefield Township, said his officers had noticed a difference in the morale of their Morrisville colleagues.

The measures McClay implemented, Coluzzi said, "seem to be routine, but they created a sense of belonging from the officers that work there, a sense of ownership, and now they have direction."

Bucks County District Attorney David Heckler said he had heard positive feedback about the department's evolution.

"The place is shaping up," he said.

McClay wants the department to keep improving. His next goal is to get the force accredited by the state, a process that requires installing vigorous standards even for well-oiled police departments.

But McClay, a career police officer, isn't worried. The attitude around headquarters used to be, "This is the way we've always done it," he said.

If nothing else, he wants to cement a culture that takes on challenges with a new spirit: "Let's get it done."

8,700

Approximate population of Morrisville.

15

Number of police officers on the force.

20%

Reduction in crime in 2014, according to new chief George McClay.

42%

Increase in drug arrests in 2014, according to McClay.

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