West Penn Township supervisors terminated the employment of police Chief James Bonner.

The board voted unanimously Monday to dismiss Bonner, who had been on paid administrative suspension since Sept. 4.

Reasons for his termination, however, were not discussed.

“Since this is a personnel matter, the board will have no further comment on this matter,” township Solicitor Paul Datte said.

Datte read a statement on behalf of the board before the vote. In it, he noted that the firing had nothing to do with a lawsuit filed against the township by Bonner’s wife (Carla Fritz) in July.

“This evening, the board of supervisors intends to consider disciplinary action against James Bonner, township chief of police, including possible termination,” he read.

He noted that the township conducted an investigation and informed Bonner of the results. Bonner was given an opportunity to respond and provide his side of the story at a recent hearing, Datte said.

“In July of this year, Chief Bonner’s wife instituted suit against the township based on allegations unrelated to the matters currently involving Chief Bonner,” Datte said. “The township wants to stress unequivocally and in the strongest possible terms that any action taken this evening by the board of supervisors is based strictly on consideration of the facts and circumstances determined after the investigation of Chief Bonner and his response. It is not a result of, or in retaliation of the suit, filed by his wife.”

At that point, supervisors voted unanimously to fire Bonner, whose contract was set to expire at the end of the year. He was hired as chief in October 2021 but had worked for the township since 2016.

Supervisors appointed Sgt. John Kaczmarczyk as sergeant-in-charge after putting Bonner on leave last month.

During the public comment portion of the meeting, a resident noted that many rumors regarding Bonner and Fritz’s lawsuit are circulating.

He said that residents have a right to know what happened.

“I wish that I could take each and every one of you one-on-one and tell you everything about both things that happened,” Board Chairman Tony Prudenti said.

He noted that he wasn’t at will to speak about Fritz’s lawsuit.

“And number two, the other one? It was a disciplinary action (involving Bonner). It had nothing to do with the lawsuit. It had to do with the actions of our police chief,” Prudenti said.

Asked by the resident if more information would surface, Datte said “there could be, but not at this time.”

“We are treating this as a personnel matter, a disciplinary matter involving a township employee. We typically don’t delve into that at this point,” Datte said.

The board voted to advertise to fill the vacant chief position.

As for the lawsuit, Fritz alleged the township violated the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Family Medical Leave Act, the Fair Labor Standards Act, and other federal and state laws while she was employed as support staff for the police department.

The complaint was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania. In it, Fritz alleges discriminatory and retaliatory actions made after she was diagnosed with anxiety led to her termination in October 2023.

In her lawsuit, Fritz is seeking several forms of relief, including back pay and benefits, compensation for emotional pain and suffering, and punitive damages.