Frackville Fires Police Chief, Officer Resigns Following Wrongful Arrest, Imprisonment Investigation

Frackville Borough Council voted Thursday night to fire Police Chief Paul Olson, a decision Council President Ron Jordan confirmed stemmed from the alleged wrongful arrest and imprisonment of a resident in August.

Jordan was the deciding vote in a 4-3 decision. Councilmen Brian Russell, Stephen Tertel, and Russell Cunningham III joined Jordan in voting to terminate Olson.

Charlie Berger, Ed Beneshunas, and Steve Kuzio voted against firing the Police Chief.

Earlier in the meeting, council also voted to accept the resignation of Officer Joseph Murton, effective Nov. 14.

Olson and Murton reportedly were the responding officers who executed a bench warrant arrest of a Joshua Lindenmuth in Gilberton on Aug. 19, Jordan said.

“That arrest was not the right Mr. Lindenmuth,” he added.

Pottsville attorney Albert Evans, who represents Olson, vowed to challenge the termination.

“I promise you, this is not the end of the matter,” Evans told The Canary when reached for comment.

Brian Reno has been named the Officer in Charge of the Frackville Police Dept.

A Case of Mistaken Identity

The termination follows an investigation into allegations that officers arrested the wrong man – Joshua D. Lindenmuth, 20, of Frackville – and held him overnight in Schuylkill County Prison on a warrant meant for a different individual.

In a letter to council and Mayor Kim Phillips obtained by The Canary, the 20-year-old Lindenmuth wrote that he had originally contacted police on Aug. 19 to ask about his off-road vehicles that had been “tagged”.

“When the Frackville Police arrived to answer my questions, they told me I had a warrant out for my arrest,” the letter states.

Lindenmuth wrote that he showed officers his driver’s license and explained he had no warrants. Despite this, he alleges officers cuffed him, “said I was the guy,” and transported him to Schuylkill County Prison.

Court records confirm that Joshua D. Lindenmuth has only traffic citations against his name.

‘Strip Searched’ and Jailed

In his letter, the 20-year-old Lindenmuth detailed his experience in custody. He stated he was jailed from 4:30 p.m. on Aug. 19 until 9:30 a.m. on Aug. 20.

“While I was locked up in prison, I was [strip] searched, vaccinated, slept in a cell overnight until finally someone listened to me at the prison and realized I was not the person they were looking for,” he wrote.

Prison population reports obtained by The Canary confirm Joshua D. Lindenmuth was an inmate at the county jail on Aug. 20 and booked on Aug. 19.

The warrant was actually intended for Joshua A. Lindenmuth, 32, of Shenandoah.

The Other Joshua Lindenmuth

The 32-year-old Joshua A. Lindenmuth is currently wanted on a Schuylkill County bench warrant issued in March.

He faces charges stemming from bizarre allegations in December 2024 at a Shenandoah Domino’s Pizza, where he allegedly stripped naked, discharged a fire extinguisher, and entered the kitchen to drink a 2-liter bottle of soda.

He has failed to appear in court on those charges.

Investigation and Legal Fallout

In September, council voted to hire Strategic Investigative Resources LLC to review Lindenmuth’s claims. The borough paid the firm $3,500 in October for the inquiry.

Jordan said the investigation confirmed Frackville officers arrested the wrong subject. He said he trusted the findings of that investigation.

In October, the council retained the law firm Eckert Seamans as special counsel to advise the borough on the liability and potential personnel fallout. Thus far, council has approved paying that firm a total of $10,885.50 for its service, including $6,755.50 in November.

On Wednesday, a private hearing before council members was held with Olson present, according to his attorney, Evans. The meeting agenda for Thursday noted that an “executive session was held from 5:30-9 p.m. Evans said it actually ran until after 10 p.m. Wednesday.

At the hearing, Frackville was represented by its attorney from Eckert Seamans. Jordan said the Borough presented the facts it had from its investigator and several witnesses were presented.

Lindenmuth was present at the hearing, Jordan said, but the Borough’s attorney “did not put him up as a witness.”

Following that hearing, Jordan said council deliberated what was heard and their decision. A follow-up executive session deliberation was held from 6:30-7:40 p.m. Thursday, ahead of the public meeting.

Jordan said he didn’t know if council’s action on Thursday would satisfy Lindenmuth’s request for disciplinary action and potentially spare the Borough legal actions he might take in the future.

“I don’t know what he’s going to do. I don’t know if the discipline will take that off the table,” Jordan said. “It’s really up to him.”

Olson’s Attorney: We Will Fight

When reached for comment following Olson’s termination, his attorney promised The Canary that he plans to hit back at the decision. He said he was “disappointed” to hear of council’s decision on Thursday.

“There is no question we will,” Evans said. “I promise you, this is not the end of the matter.”

Evans said he’s not sure if the firing will be appealed to the Civil Service Commission or through a lawsuit filed in Schuylkill County Court of Common Pleas.

Further, Evans said Frackville’s decision to fire his client on Thursday was unjust. He said council members have “no legitimate basis to terminate him.”

“Chief Olson is a very experienced police officer. He was in the course of assisting another officer. He was doing his job,” Evans said. “In order to terminate, they need to show he was completely ignoring his responsibility as a police officer. They have to show neglect of duty.”

Evans also called into question the claims made in Lindenmuth’s letter to Frackville council members.

“The letter contains errors,” he said, adding that body cam footage proves the letter is not accurate.

Jordan: Firing Olson “Very Difficult”

Jordan said his tie-breaking vote to terminate Olson was “very difficult” to make. He credited Olson with essentially transforming the borough’s police department.

“Chief has done some really terrific things in Frackville,” he said. “Again, a very tough decision.”

Jordan said Olson convinced council members to examine the pay structure for officers in the department and was effective at bringing in experienced officers but also mixing in academy graduates on the roster.

Ultimately though, Jordan said it’s his responsibility to ensure the right people are in the right positions.

“I’ve got to make sure the people that are running the police department in incidents are making sure that everything is done properly,” he said. “Basically, the decision is to make sure we have the people in the right position to do that and not put the borough or a borough residents in a situation where a civil lawsuit could come in. Somebody’s wrongfully arrested, that’s not a good thing.”

Officials Refused to Confirm Chief’s Status

Though Jordan opened up on Thursday about the details of the investigation, Frackville officials had kept a lid on information regarding the allegations for several months.

Olson, at least, was placed on paid administrative leave following receipt of the allegations, Jordan said.

However, at their regular monthly meetings in October and November, council members and Frackville Solicitor Mark Semanchik refused to answer any questions from The Canary when confronted about the case.

A question of “Is your Police Chief on administrative leave” was met with “No comment” or “I can’t comment” from every council person and Mayor Phillips.

When Semanchik was approached with the same question in October, he simply walked away and gave a goodbye salute while leaving the council meeting room.

In November, after the regular meeting had adjourned, Semanchik was asked when the last day Olson was on the job. He initially said he’s not in charge of the police department (though all questions had been deferred to him by others at that point) and added, “nor would I give any information when any of our employees work, don’t work, or the reasons why they don’t work.”

He further claimed that since “none of this information was discussed at the public meeting, you really are not entitled to any answers.

“You most certainly aren’t,” he insisted. “At this point, since this is a public meeting, Borough Council conducted a business meeting that you were present at. None of this was discussed at the meeting and therefore, it shouldn’t be discussed now.”

Semanchik then turned to any remaining council members nearby and said, “My advice to council members, if there’s any further questions in regard to personnel issues, please respond ‘No comment’ so that maybe this matter can be ended tonight.”

Jordan was asked how he felt about keeping from the public the fact that the Borough’s highest paid employee was on paid leave. He said he was acting on the advice of legal counsel in not responding to previous questions regarding Olson’s status.

“At the end of the day, transparency should be a good thing but under legal counsel, we were told to keep it under wraps,” Jordan said. “Out of respect to the Chief and just try to do our due diligence to get through what we had to get through. That’s really what it was about.”

RELATED:

• Frackville Opens $175/Hour Investigation Into Borough Employee(s)
• Frackville’s Vote on Hiring Investigator Presents Sunshine Act Compliance Issues, Expert Says
• Frackville Officials Mum on Paying Special Investigator, Retaining Special Counsel
• Schuylkill County Man Naked, Covered in White Powder Facing Charges After Scene at Local Domino’s

Subscribe to Coal Region Canary

Get email updates from Coal Region Canary by becoming a subscriber today. Just enter your email address below to get started!

Support Coal Region Canary

Like our reporting and want to support truly local news in Schuylkill County? Your small donations help. For as little as $5, your contribution will allow us to cover more news that directly affects you. Consider donating today by hitting the big yellow button below ...