Bethel Park Police Chief Timothy O'Conner resigns
BETHEL PARK, Pa. (KDKA) -- Bethel Park Police Chief Timothy O'Conner resigned on Monday.
O'Conner has been chief at the department for at least seven years.
"We were shocked, it was an abrupt resignation and we don't really have a lot of details other than that," said Kristen Denny, Bethel Park's municipal manager.
Denny said he turned in his letter of resignation and gave no reasons as to what led up to the decision.
She said he's made many positive contributions to the community as chief over the years.
"I think he tried to work very hard with the officers and he made a lot of positive changes," Denny said.
The timing of his departure comes with speculation though, as it came just two days before a former Bethel Park lieutenant pleaded guilty to transporting an 18-year-old Venezuelan woman into the United States from Colombia in 2022.
"I don't believe there's any connection between those two items. That officer had left the department months ago. This was being handled by the FBI and had really no bearing on anything that was going on here internally within the police department," Denny said.
O'Conner told KDKA-TV on Thursday that he resigned for "personal reasons," going on to say the timing of it came down to making decisions for his medical coverage. He would not elaborate further.
The department's current lieutenant will fill in as chief until the hiring process begins next week.
"The police department is a very strong group of men and women. They're very dedicated to Bethel Park and I have full confidence that they will be all hands in and getting us to move forward," Denny said.
