Moves to strengthen the Middlesex Township Police Department follow a string of officer resignations and claims the department’s lack of leadership is causing issues.

Supervisors, last month, voted to begin advertising for a police chief, which would mark the first time in two decades the township would have one on its payroll.

As the search for a police chief continues, township supervisors recently approved the resignation of three full-time police officers and one part-time police officer.

“We're looking for a chief that is an administrator in the department,” township manager Jeffrey Winkle said in a recent interview. “They’ll oversee scheduling, oversee the officers’ hours and make sure we have that continued coverage for the township. We need somebody that can control the administration of the department.”

Currently, the closest position the department has to a “chief” is Cpl. Bryan Costanzo, who serves as officer-in-charge.

According to Supervisor Michael Spreng, there are key differences between the position of a police chief and Costanzo’s role as officer-in-charge.

“A chief takes care of the whole force,” Spreng said. “(An officer-in-charge) has to go through the township manager.”

When asked why the township was taking this step now, Spreng said, “We (the township board) were getting too involved with it and we needed somebody else to take care of it. It was just a lot of turmoil.”

Steve Dunkerley is the most recent officer to resign. He was initially hired in November. He is the fourth officer to resign from the department in 2025.

The resignation of Christopher Scalise was made official at a supervisors meeting in April and Collin Lawson tendered his resignation in March. A part-time police officer, Timothy Cryster Jr., resigned from the department in March, shortly after being hired.

As of May, the department consists of four full-time officers and one part-time officer, down from seven full-time officers at the start of the year.

“The officers resigned for their own reasons,” Winkle said. “We’ve had some officers leave, and people leave positions for various reasons: a job closer to home, a better paying position. We’ve had those types of losses. People move on for what they feel are better opportunities.”

Resignation letters obtained by the Butler Eagle indicate Dunkerley resigned to accept a position closer to home, and a letter from Cryster showed he “decided to respectfully decline the offer” for the part-time position before his first day of employment.

Lawson’s resignation letter lacks a reason, but the letter from Scalise indicates concern about the work environment.

“I have enjoyed working alongside the other officers in this department and am grateful for the experience and knowledge gained through my time here,” Scalise wrote. “However, the lack of direction regarding the police department from the township has created a very poor work environment and workplace with no structure.”

A portion of the letter is redacted, but ends wishing the best for the future of the department and the community.

“I do not wish to continue my career here,” Scalise wrote.

Two people close to the situation — who spoke to the Butler Eagle on the condition of anonymity — said there was a culture of dysfunction that prompted at least two of the departures. One reported the resigning officers felt “unsupported and not respected.”

Both said the township repeatedly denied officers the opportunity to attend training courses they felt were vital to their job performance, even though many of the courses were free. For one active-shooter training course, the sources said the township would let only one officer attend.

“This is alarming due to the obvious nationwide demand for this type of training,” one source said. “The continued denial of police training puts the safety of the community in danger.”

Of the training situation, Winkle said, “The township has always encouraged and supported relevant and valuable training opportunities for all police officers.”

The resignations come only months after the township and police department agreed to terms on renewing the department’s collective bargaining agreement, which took effect at the start of 2025 and lasts until the end of 2026.

According to Winkle, the agreement included pay increases for all officers.

“We’ve also updated many of the equipment needs of the officers,” Winkle said. “We’re currently in the process of acquiring new Tasers and new sidearms for the officers.”

However, the unnamed sources stated the new contract has brought new issues. Both sources claim Winkle has attempted to change the schedule without regard for the agreement.

“The department signed a two-year contract at the start of 2025, which implemented the 12-hour shifts, which ultimately gave the township more consistent coverage,” one source said.

A copy of the collective bargaining agreement obtained by the Butler Eagle calls for full-time employees to perform shifts of 12 consecutive hours, and states schedules are to be determined by the officer-in-charge — or, if one is hired, a police chief.

Article 9, “scheduling,” states, “At no time will any township official influence or interfere with the scheduling of officers.”

“A few months after signing a new contract … the township manager was demanding that the schedule rotation be changed to how he wanted,” one source said.

Spreng sees the scheduling debate differently.

“They would put a schedule together, and nobody liked the schedule they put together,” Spreng said. “They were calling off here, and then they were changing this and that, and that's not the way it can work. If you’re scheduled, you’re scheduled. You can't just change your mind and not go.”

When asked, Winkle denied he and the township tried to change the officers’ shifts or that he even had the power to do so.

“The current collective bargaining agreement with the police officers provides for 12-hour shifts,” Winkle said. “Any change from this arrangement would need to be approved by both parties.”

In late 2005, the Middlesex department was briefly disbanded by a 2-1 vote of the supervisors, as the township was looking to cut costs to divert funding to repair deteriorating roads.

However, months later, an arbitrator reversed the supervisors’ decision to disband the department, ruling the officers had a union contract that lasted until the end of 2007. Supervisors appealed the decision, but ultimately decided to reinstate the department. Six of the seven officers returned.

Winkle said by the time he became township manager in 2022, the police force consisted of four full-time and three part-time officers. By the start of 2025, it had expanded to seven full-time and two part-time officers.

He has told the Butler Eagle the present officer shortage has no ties to the situation from two decades ago and only one officer, Randy Davison, is remaining from that time period.

In May 2005, months before the police department’s brief disappearance, the position of police chief was also eliminated, also to save money for road repair. The chief at the time was Ed Brooks, who was reassigned as a patrol officer.

In addition to seeking a police chief, the township has also began advertising for a full-time and a part-time police officer to replace those who resigned after the supervisors’ meeting on April 16.

One unnamed source indicated support for the idea of hiring a police chief.

“In my opinion, this police department could greatly benefit from hiring a full-time chief,” the source said. “The department lacks structure and direction, all while the township continues to grow.”

In the meantime, Winkle said township residents should not notice much of a difference in the level of service at the police department.

“They work 12-hour shifts at the police department,” Winkle said. “We try to maintain coverage 24/7. It might be a little bit more difficult with only having four officers, but they’ve done a good job.”

Winkle said the township has no plans to supplement its police department with coverage from state police or enter into an inter-municipal agreement with another municipality that has its own police department.

“We will regroup again,” Spreng said. “We will get more people.”