Season 8 participant Sean Reifel from PEI criticized mayor Arrested in Pennsylvania after quitting police duties to compete on a dating reality TV series.
Mayor J. William Reynolds sheds tears for Sean Reifel
mayor J. William Reynolds of Bethlehem accused Reifel, 29, of allegedly leaving bethlehem Less than a year after he was sworn in, the police department was understaffed.
“Our police department spends a lot of time training, and we paid thousands of taxpayer dollars to send him to the police academy,” Reynolds said in an interview with WHTM.
“We are disappointed to see him leave as we now have another vacancy in our department that will not be filled until next year.”
“I never thought there would be a day in America that being on a reality show would be better than being a police officer,” he added.
Sean Reifel’s former supervisor expresses disappointment in resignation
Reifer’s former supervisor, Police Chief Michelle Cote, expressed disappointment in Reifer’s resignation.
Over the weekend, Cote told local news outlet The Morning Call that he had affection for Sean because he was a great man and a good officer, but he was still disappointed.
“We work very hard to recruit the best people to join the Bethlehem Police Department.”
Kotter also elaborated on why the soon-to-be reality star was unable to take time off and return to work after the show ended.
“Right now, I don’t think a department would be willing to allow someone to take ‘x’ number of weeks away to do a TV show because everyone is injured right now and is using overtime to fill those gaps,” Cote said. “The officers were exhausted. It just looked like a bad look to me.”
Reifer said, “I’m not an actor, I’m a policeman.”
Despite his resignation, Refiel still appeared in front of Peacock audiences as a police officer in the second official trailer, which unveiled the first 12 islanders.
“I’m not a model, I’m not an actor, actually, I’m a police officer,” Reiffel proudly declared, walking on his hands to demonstrate his upper body strength.
The Pennsylvania native has reportedly drawn attention for being involved in a contentious custody battle with the mother of his two-year-old son.
Reiffel wasn’t the only Season 8 cast member to receive criticism ahead of the season’s premiere.
