SLIPPERY ROCK — Although reaction from the law enforcement community over the firing of borough police chief Terry Brown has been strong, reactions from borough residents has been relatively subdued.

Mayor Ken Harris said he has heard from only a handful of residents about the situation.

“People are not knocking on my door or ringing up,” Harris said.

He said most of the people he has heard from are relatively supportive of Brown.

“They support Terry Brown, but admit they don’t know much about the event,” he said.

Harris said the residents he spoke to said they found Brown helpful when they worked with him, and did not specifically ask about the reasons why he was terminated. One resident wanted to send Brown a thank you card.

Council Vice President Blase Tucci said he has not received any comments from residents.

“I guess, looking from the outside, it would be difficult to form an opinion,” he said.

Tucci, who voted in favor of terminating Brown, said the decision was not made lightly.

“I have had much loss of sleep over this issue,” he said.

Brown was placed on paid administrative leave Oct. 23 following a firearms training incident. In a meeting of borough council Tuesday, Brown was fired.

Currently, Lt. Brian Hoak is in charge of the department. There are only three full-time officers in the borough. Council President David Miller said the borough plans to hire a few part-time officers soon.

Council would not give an official reason for the action and did all of its deliberation in an executive session, saying it was a personnel issue.

Some borough residents say they had positive experiences with Brown, but were not aware of his firing or the situation surrounding it.

Don McConnell, a Slippery Rock Township resident, said he was upset by the move.

“I think it was a wrong move. I like Brownie,” McConnell said. “He’s a good man.”

He said he did not hear of the firing until a few moments before the interview, when his barber told him. He did not know about Brown’s situation or the actions leading to his termination.

McConnell said he has known Brown since Brown started working in Slippery Rock.

Bill Carr, owner of Luigi’s Family Restaurant in the borough, said his experiences with Brown were friendly.

“He’s a nice guy,” Carr said.

Carr said he knew very little about the issue and could not form a solid opinion on the matter.

Kerry Cassidy, a township resident, said she considers Brown to be a “straight shooter.” She too was unaware of Brown’s situation.

The next meeting of borough council is 7 p.m. Tuesday at the borough building.