Kiski Township police chief no longer in charge; Southern Armstrong nixes merger talks

Lee Bartolicius is out as Kiski Township police chief, a township official confirmed, sending the department back into disarray and spoiling merger talks with Southern Armstrong Regional Police Department.

Township Secretary Patrick Bono said he was informed by township supervisors this week that Bartolicius is “not here anymore,” with Officer Chris Tessmer taking over in his stead.

Tessmer joined the department in August as a part-timer before being promoted to full time in November. He was hired as Kiski Township rebuilt its police force following a mass resignation in 2022, which left Bartolicius as one of two officers in the department. Bartolicius was promoted to chief shortly after.

It’s unclear whether Bartolicius has been suspended or outright terminated. In his decade-plus as a police officer, he has worked in several departments, including East Deer, Frazier, Vandergrift, Duquesne University and other locations before landing in Kiski Township.

Bartolicius did not respond to multiple requests for comment, nor did township supervisors Mary Long — who leads the board on police matters — Chuck Rodnicki and Mark Kendall.

Other officers have declined to comment, as have township supervisors Brittany Hilliard, who chairs the board, and Bryan Eckenrode.

The push to oust Bartolicius led Southern Armstrong police to halt negotiations over adding Kiski Township to its service area, according to officials with the regional police department.

Kiski Township sent Southern Armstrong a letter of intent to join the regional police force in October, but put those plans on hold until its new members took office in January.

Part of the new board kept pursuing the merger, and Bartolicius spoke in favor of the move on multiple occasions.

Other supervisors, namely Hilliard, are against such a move. She told TribLive last month that, when accounting for grants, rebates and the $58,000 deal for Kiski Township to provide police coverage to North Apollo, township finances would be no better off with a merger.

North Apollo Mayor June Kilgore declined to comment.

Southern Armstrong covers Freeport, Gilpin and Ford City, and has discussed expansion with several nearby communities. With a population of 4,600, Kiski Township would have been the largest community to join the department.

Any merger must get approval from a seven-member regional police commission.

Though he didn’t name Bartolicius directly, Charles Stull, a Gilpin supervisor and chairman of the commission that oversees the regional police force, cited “pretty serious” personnel issues as the reason for ending talks.

Southern Armstrong Chief Chris Fabec confirmed that the regional department, not Kiski Township, decided to walk away. An ordinance that would push the merger forward remains on display at the Kiski Township building.

At this stage, there doesn’t appear to be an external investigation tied to Bartolicius’ removal. Armstrong County District Attorney Katie Charlton and state police said they were not involved in the matter.

Without a public statement from local officials, residents under Kiski Township police coverage, such as Eddie Womeldorf of North Apollo, are left guessing as to why Bartolicius is no longer in charge.

“I’d like to know what’s going on,” Womeldorf said. “Everybody is in the dark.”

Jack Wilmot, a longtime Kiski supervisor and North Apollo’s last police chief, said he’s familiar with how fraught relationships between elected officials and law enforcement can get behind the scenes.

“It’s a lot of politics, I’m sure,” Wilmot said. “He’s probably done something that somebody didn’t like.”