January 07, 2026
Thom Carroll/For PhillyVoice
Shanee Mitchell, a police chief in Collingdale, Delaware County, was placed on administrative leave over a dispute about her work schedule, her lawyer says.
A Delaware County police chief has been placed on paid administrative leave over a dispute about her work schedule, her lawyer said.
Shanee Mitchell, a former Philadelphia police officer who took on the role in Collingdale in October 2024, was temporarily removed from her duties Tuesday, according to her lawyer Mark Schwartz. Town officials allegedly said she hadn't worked enough 8 a.m.-4 p.m. shifts, which was her normal schedule. However, Schwartz said her contract states she can vary her hours as she sees fit.
Collingdale's mayor and City Council members were sworn in Monday night. On Tuesday, Schwartz said the mayor, borough manager and council president briefly spoke to Mitchell at 9:45 a.m. about going on leave.
"When you do something like that to somebody, there's a stigma that attaches to it, 'Oh, she did something wrong, or maybe she did something criminal,'" Schwartz said. "It's just not something that you should just look at lightly and say, 'Oh, well she's getting paid, what's the big deal?'"
As of Wednesday afternoon, it was unclear if and when Mitchell will be able to return to her post, and Collingdale Police Department declined to confirm whether she had been placed on leave. No one has been designated as an interim replacement. Collingdale's borough manager did not immediately return a request for comment.
Mitchell was hired in October 2024 to replace Patrick Kilroy, a 20-year veteran of the department who was demoted after just six months on the job for complaints about overtime costs and not meeting with council members. At the time, Collingdale Mayor Donna Matteo-Spadea said she and some council members were "blindsided" by the decision to hire Mitchell, and former Council President Ryan Hastings said two council members had not been invited to Mitchell's interview because they had released information about another candidate that was meant to be private.
The department went from seven officers to three in the month after Mitchell was hired, and state police were called to fill in. However, as of August 2025, the borough's police force was back up to 10.
Schwartz said there is "constant political infighting" which led to the administrative changes, and that he believes there are grounds for a lawsuit. A memo he shared with PhillyVoice shows that Mitchell received a Community Catalyst Award from the borough for her good work on Dec. 22. Schwartz also said Mitchell had been previously hospitalized for anxiety due to conflict with the administration.
"She's got an (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission) charge for race," Schwartz said of Mitchell, who is Black. "She has been put in a false light. She may have been defamed. She may also have grounds for a disability lawsuit because she has cancer."
Before coming to Delaware County, Mitchell was hired as the police chief of Selinsgrove in Central Pennsylvania in 202, a job she held while primarily living in Montgomery County. Some of Selinsgrove's leaders felt she needed to live in the town to effectively do her job, others praised her for upgrading technology and her work with mental health professionals.
Mitchell still lives in Montgomery County, but Schwartz said she's in compliance with her contract, which requires her to live within a 75-minute drive of the borough building in Collingdale.
