Council president gives reasons for police chief's demotion

MILFORD — The contract between the Milford Borough and its police chief was not renewed because "lack of enforcement has increased," said Meagan Kameen, acting borough council president, at Monday night's council meeting.
Don Quick will be the acting chief as of Jan. 1, at $20 an hour, until a permanent appointment can be made, Kameen said.
Kameen said Chief Jack DaSilva will continue to work full time as a patrolman and will retain his benefits.
She said residents complained about the lack of enforcement at every borough meeting, which prompted the council to take action.
Mayor Sean Strub agreed, and said the decision was made out of concern for public safety.
He also said the borough needs a chief who can get grants.
Kameen said the council's Committee on Public Safety used several metrics to judge the performance of the police chief, including direction, planning, and administrative skills.
She said ticket writing had gone down significantly. Some in the audience objected, saying the number of tickets shouldn't be used to judge whether an officer is doing a good job.
Kameen disagreed.
"Tickets are how we know how much enforcement is going on," she said.
Strub said, "We need more visible policing."