DeWitt Town Board votes unanimously to place DeWitt Police Chief on administrative leave

DEWITT, N.Y. (WSYR-TV) — In a special Town of DeWitt board meeting on Thursday night, April 18, DeWitt’s Police Chief Chase Bilodeau was placed on administrative leave.

According to the minutes from the meeting, the decision was based on a personnel issue motioned by Councilor H Bernard Alex and seconded by Councilor Max Ruckdeschel.

Chief Bilodeau has been serving since April 2020 and spoke to NewsChannel 9 a few months into the job about the department’s plans for police reform because, at the time, the public’s trust in the department was lacking.

That plan included implementing body cameras, training, use of force and handling calls involving people with mental illness.

At the time, the public did not have a nice opinion of the department as one resident told NewsChannel 9, “No matter what you implement, the problem, the way I view it, is that guilty cops, the police departments, do not have a way to purge themselves of bad police officers.”

Although it’s unclear why Chief Bilodeau was put on paid administrative leave effective immediately, the vote passed unanimously with seven ayes.

NewsChannel 9 contacted the Town of DeWitt Supervisor, Ed Michalenko, who sent the following statement, confirming that Captain Brenton White has been appointed as acting Chief of Police.

The Town Board is actively reviewing the Town of Dewitt Police Chief position. As this is a personnel matter, the Town will have no comment until the review is complete. In the meantime, the Town has appointed Captain Brenton White as acting Chief of Police and expects services provided by our Police Department to function in the same exemplary, efficient and effective manner as the Town of Dewitt has always experienced.

Town of DeWitt Supervisor, Ed Michalenko