About Karen Zapf
Plum Council voted Thursday
night to continue the suspension with pay of borough police Officer Jeremy
Cumberledge “pending further investigation.”
The 5-0 vote came at a special
meeting called to address Cumberledge's situation. Councilmen Don Knopfel and
Steve “Skip” Taylor did not attend.
The five council members who
did, as well as Mayor Richard Hrivnak, left the five-minute meeting without
commenting.
Borough Manager Michael Thomas
declined to discuss the investigation and what agency is conducting it.
Cumberledge, a borough
patrolman since 2007, did not attend the meeting and did not respond to
messages seeking comment. The officer's base pay salary is about $78,800.
Thomas declined to comment when
asked why the meeting was called to continue the officer's suspension with pay.
That's the way the issue was described on a printed meeting agenda.
Cumberledge has been suspended
with pay since Jan. 11 after what borough officials have said was an internal
breach of the municipal computer system.
The computer system contained
records for the borough's 67 employees.
Thomas has said the breach did
not involve any resident's information, such as tax records.
He also has said once the
breach was discovered, measures were taken to ensure it didn't happen again.
Plum officials turned over
information with respect to the computer breach to another law enforcement
agency, Thomas has said.
Police vacancies to be filled
In other action, council
authorized the borough staff to prepare a list of candidates for police
lieutenant, sergeant and patrolman.
The openings are a result of
the retirement last month of former police Chief Frank Monaco and the promotion
of former Lt. Jeffrey Armstrong to chief.
