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WILKES-BARRE — It’s Coffay time.
Commander Joseph Coffay will be sworn in as the city’s next police chief next week, officials confirmed Friday, marking the veteran lawman’s official elevation to head of the department he has served for nearly three decades.
His swearing-in ceremony on Wednesday also will mark the end of Coffay’s five months leading the force on an interim basis, since former chief Marcella Lendacky retired June 3.
“He’s been doing a nice job since then,” city Administrator Ted Wampole said. “We’ve seen an uptick in the morale of the department and things are going very smoothly.”
Efforts to reach Coffay on Friday were not immediately successful.
Coffay, 53, joined the department in 1991. He had been a detective and captain before being named to one of the two commander posts during the previous administration of Mayor Tom Leighton.
Lendacky, whose tenure lasted just over two years, retired in the wake of a Pennsylvania Chiefs of Police Association report that said she lacked the professional qualifications to run the department and that morale had suffered significantly.
The report also found that Coffay had the professional qualifications and college education that Lendacky and fellow Commander Ron Foy lacked for a senior administrator’s post, and that he was viewed within the department “as a supportive leader who provides guidance and instructions without belittling.”
Wampole said Friday that Coffay chose to undergo some additional professional training, although he was not sure of the exact nature.
But, the administrator added, “Commander Coffay already has a substantial amount of training and experience by virtue of the roles he has held in law enforcement.”
Mayor Tony George made the decision to appoint Coffay to the chief’s position, but Wampole said it was a decision he very much supports.
“It’s time to formally name him the chief of the Wilkes-Barre Police Department,” Wampole said.
The road to naming a new chief has had some twists and turns, however.
Lendacky gave notice in April, and the city advertised for a new chief that month. By the May 8 response deadline, the job attracted 13 candidates from both within the department and throughout the country.
By June, however, some had withdrawn and discussions with the finalists were stuck on pay and benefits, leading the city to designate Coffay the officer in charge.
In October, Wampole said the job was likely to be filled from within the department, and that “there is no ongoing search.”
That announcement came as George budgeted $98,345 for the position next year — even though it had not yet been filled — as part of his $50.4 million balanced budget proposal.
Union support
Efforts to reach a representative of the Wilkes-Barre City Police Benevolent Association for comment on Friday’s announcement were not immediately successful.
The union has praised Coffay in posts on its official Facebook page, however.
“The PBA would like thank Commander Joe Coffay, Detective Charlie Casey, and City Council on the Police SUV’s being added to the police fleet,” an Oct. 4 post stated.
“Under our new leadership we can see improvements are being made steadily within the department, and the improved work conditions are allowing for greater collaboration on track to rejuvenate the organization spirit,” the post added.
George will administer the oath to Coffay at 10 a.m. Wednesday in City Council Chambers, 4th Floor, Wilkes-Barre City Hall, 40 E. Market St.