Local Government TV

▼

Tuesday, February 17, 2015

Bethlehem Township Fires K-9 Officer

Officer Dan Barsnica and Castro
Bethlehem Township's police force is one officer short, but not as the result of illness or injury. At their February 16 meeting, Commissioners voted to terminate Officer Dan Barsnica. The vote was unanimous except for Pat Breslin, who was absent. Their vote followed an executive session. Commissioners declined to say what prompted their decision.

Barsnica has the right to seek an independent arbitration, which often go in favor of the police officer. In Fountain Hill, for example, an arbitrator ordered the reinstatement of an officer who was caught on video, roughing up a suspect, and then being deceptive. The borough had to pay the officer to resign.

Barsnica is a K-9 officer whose partner, a Belgian Malinois police dog named Castro, has wowed crowds for years during National Nights Out.

"Ruh roh," said Castro, when informed he's lost his badge. He's applied for unemployment.

In other police news, Chief Dan Pancoast's monthly report for January shows that officers responded to 67 accidents involving 116 vehicles and 13 injuries. There were 127 traffic citations, 114 warnings and 29 parking tickets.

Sgt. Bill Blake initiated seven drug and prostitution investigations, although the state Bureau of Narcotics has taken over some matters that appear to include forgeries. There were 20 misdemeanor and felony arrests, three DUIs and 12 summary offenses filed.
at

16 comments:

  1. AnonymousFebruary 17, 2015 at 12:14 AM

    What did he do? Beastiality ?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Bernie O'HareFebruary 17, 2015 at 12:19 AM

    Ask Castro. But do it from a safe distance.

    ReplyDelete
  3. AnonymousFebruary 17, 2015 at 5:37 AM

    Well, as soon as Bernie gets that Hoffman kid reinstated in Bethlehem he can help this kid out too.

    ReplyDelete
  4. AnonymousFebruary 17, 2015 at 7:06 AM

    Wow, he must have done something really bad. Bethlehem Township allows convicted arsonists to be officers....

    http://articles.mcall.com/1997-12-02/news/3170136_1_arson-fires-police-officer-biggest-fires

    ReplyDelete
  5. AnonymousFebruary 17, 2015 at 7:17 AM

    @7:06,
    You cite an article from 8 years ago. The person you attack was never a police officer in BT. The concern was that he was a firefighter, but that was short-lived, as Mr. Sullivan ended his desire to be a volunteer firefighter within weeks of his initial decision.
    He served his time, and has not been on the wrong side of the law since his initial run-in, 10 years ago. But, again, haters will be haters.

    ReplyDelete
  6. AnonymousFebruary 17, 2015 at 7:24 AM

    You apparently didn't bother to read it, you just went right to full moron.... I never said he was a police officer.....


    " he petitioned the fire company to be allowed to return and was accepted"

    They accepted a convicted arsonist, not only as a firefighter, but as a fire officer. He never 'ended his desire', and was seen riding the trucks many times after they claimed to have decided that he was not firefighter material...

    He was so far on the wrong side of the law when he was running around committing first degree felonies that he can never completely get back to the right side....

    One can only wonder what kind of nefarious activities a person who would defend such a scumbag could be engaged in...

    The very fact that they ever even entertained the idea of allowing a man who caused close to a million dollars in fire damage to serve the community as a public safety officer says all that needs to be said...

    ReplyDelete
  7. AnonymousFebruary 17, 2015 at 9:22 AM

    @7:24,
    By stating that he was allowed to be an "officer", you allude to the misconception that it meant police officer, and the appointment was at the discretion of the Township. If you wanted to be clear, you would have stated it in your initial post, and not merely reference a link.
    As for his "desire", it was most definitely ended when he was informed that he could not participate in any capacity as a firefighter. So, you are mistaken when you allege he was seen riding fire apparatus after the decision was made. You merely want to open closed issues, trying to make a point when the two issues are not relative to each other.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Bernie O'HareFebruary 17, 2015 at 9:26 AM

    I'm all for giving people second chances, but I'm not crazy about making an arsonist a firefighter.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Bernie O'HareFebruary 17, 2015 at 9:31 AM

    "Well, as soon as Bernie gets that Hoffman kid reinstated in Bethlehem he can help this kid out too."

    Police officers put their lives on the line every day. The longer they are there, the better trained they tend to be. Thus, any action to terminate a police officer had better be well conceived. The termination of Hoffman was not. I do not know the facts about Barsnica, only the rumors.

    ReplyDelete
  10. AnonymousFebruary 17, 2015 at 4:20 PM

    Jim Gregory was a police offcier who put his life on the line.

    ReplyDelete
  11. AnonymousFebruary 17, 2015 at 5:13 PM

    7:24
    your comment is irrelevant since Bethlehem township doesn't hire firefighters. their fire departments are independant and out of the control of the township as far as who gets hired and who doesn't.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Louie DenaldoFebruary 17, 2015 at 8:00 PM

    The township is a dump anyway. Beth City is the place to be....

    ReplyDelete
  13. AnonymousFebruary 17, 2015 at 8:06 PM

    Bernie @9:26,
    I too believe in giving those who have seen the errors of their ways second chances. They must be evaluated on a case by case basis, and not generalized, as some would have it.

    ReplyDelete
  14. AnonymousFebruary 18, 2015 at 10:03 AM

    The rat is now in the trap

    ReplyDelete
  15. AnonymousFebruary 21, 2015 at 5:20 PM

    Fountain Hill has a history of their PD demanding, seriously brow beating staff to give them free coffee. It is amazing the whole department was not terminated at one point.

    ReplyDelete
  16. AnonymousFebruary 21, 2015 at 5:21 PM

    Just ask any former Wawa Fountain Hill worker from a few years ago.

    ReplyDelete

You own views are appreciated, especially if they differ from mine. But remember, commenting is a privilege, not a right. I will delete personal attacks or off-topic remarks at my discretion. Comments that play into the tribalism that has consumed this nation will be declined. So will comments alleging voter fraud unless backed up by concrete evidence. If you attack someone personally, I expect you to identify yourself. I will delete criticisms of my comment policy, vulgarities, cut-and-paste jobs from other sources and any suggestion of violence towards anyone. I will also delete sweeping generalizations about mainstream parties or ideologies, i.e. identity politics. My decisions on these matters are made on a case by case basis, and may be affected by my mood that day, my access to the blog at the time the comment was made or other information that isn’t readily apparent.