ALLENTOWN, Pa. — Allentown City Councilman Ed Zucal pledged Thursday night that he’d find a new police chief if voters elect him to the city’s top job this year.
“I believe we need new leadership at the top in the police department, and if I become mayor, that will be one of the first positions I replace."Councilman Ed Zucal
“I believe we need new leadership at the top in the police department, and if I become mayor, that will be one of the first positions I replace,” Zucal said.
The comment came during LehighValleyNews.com’s Allentown mayoral primary with Mayor Matt Tuerk at Miller Symphony Hall.
Zucal revealed his plan when asked whether Allentown Police Department maintains the trust and confidence of residents in the wake of sexual assault and other charges against two former vice officers, and other allegations made public in August in a whistleblower lawsuit.
“I can tell you that the community does not trust the police anymore,” Zucal said. He said officers sometimes are called “a rapist” and “a thief” while on duty.
“To me, that’s not confidence in the police department,” Zucal said.
“I know the mayor won't agree with me on this, and that's OK,” the two-term councilman, who served more than two decades in Allentown Police Department, said Thursday.
'We are building trust': Mayor
Zucal is “totally wrong” about Police Chief Charles Roca’s leadership, Tuerk said in reply.
Roca “has done an incredible job leading the Allentown Police Department out of … a difficult culture and into a culture of excellence,” Tuerk said.
The mayor touted his and Roca’s work to invest in “officer wellness” and new technology that “gives our police the tools they need to do the job.”
“I know that we are building trust with our community because we're hiring officers who truly get it."Mayor Matt Tuerk
Tuerk said Roca has improved the standard of new recruits hired to join the department.
“I know that we are building trust with our community because we're hiring officers who truly get it,” he said.
Allentown Police Academy has “an incredibly intense vetting process that leads to about 1 percent of applicants making it through” to serve as officers, according to Tuerk.
That “challenges our ability to appropriately staff [the department], but we place officer wellness as the highest priority,” Tuerk said.
“If we invest in our officers, they'll invest in the community that they serve.”
He highlighted his administration’s push to invest in the department by building a new police station.
Roca responds
Roca in a statement to LehighValleyNews.com on Thursday night said Zucal’s pledge to fire him if elected would not change his commitment to serving the city.
“If he does get elected mayor, it would be his decision,” Roca said.
“To say there is no faith in the police is not only inaccurate, it undermines the very work that’s making a difference."Police Chief Charles Roca
The chief challenged Zucal’s assertion that the public doesn’t trust Allentown police. Roca said his officers are “among the best in the business.”
“To say there is no faith in the police is not only inaccurate, it undermines the very work that’s making a difference,” Roca said.
“It dismisses the long hours, the personal sacrifices and the deep-rooted dedication that our officers bring to the job every day.”
Like Tuerk, Roca highlighted statistics that showed “a dramatic drop in crimes” and a “record low” for homicides — four — last year.
Zucal questioned the validity of those declarations during Thursday’s debate.
“[Tuerk] claimed that crime is down. However, you need to take credit for your entire term,” Zucal said. “In 2023, there were 19 homicides.”
Zucal and Tuerk are vying for the Democratic nomination in the May 20 primary. The last day to register to vote is May 5.
