Cheltenham welcomes two new officers, Chief Slavin honors numerous staff and retirees

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January 26th, 2024 | By Ryan Genova

The Cheltenham Township Police Department welcomed officers Max Bernstein and Brianna Witherspoon, each of whom were sworn in during the January 17 Board of Commissioners meeting at Curtis Hall. 

After the swearings-in, Chief John Slavin presented the following commendations:

  • Officer Matthew Bugieda was honored with a Heroism Award for his efforts on June 18, 2020.
  • Detective Denise Tecce, Detective Mattew Gonglik, and civilian JP McHugh each received a Merit Award for their efforts in two separate incidents in March 2023.
  • Officer Nicholas O’ Connor received a Valor Award for his efforts on April 2, 2023.
  • Officer Stewart Coyle and Officer Zachariah Slivinski received a Unit Citation for the efforts on April 25, 2023.

The officers listed below received a Unit Citation for their efforts in the Limekiln Pike incident on March 13, 2023:

Cheltenham Township: Officer Zachery Koerper, Officer Kevin Norton, Officer Stephanie Pappas, Officer Christian Dobush, Officer Justin Sneeringer, Officer James Stocklos, Officer Adam Heath, Officer Ryan Ewald, Officer Brian Walsh, Detective Matthew Gonglik, Detective Ryan Murray, Sergeant Jeff Murphy, Detective Sergeant Richard Schaffer, Sergeant Jason O’Keefe ,Chief John Slavin, Lieutenant Daniel Farley, Lieutenant Andy Snyder

Springfield Township: Lieutenant Mersky, Detective Baiada, Sergeant Hart, Sergeant Badolato, Detective Corporal Chiarlanza, Officer Wiley, Officer Seltzer, Officer Lopez, and Detective Craig


The following officers received a Unit Citation for the Montgomery Avenue incident on April 13, 2023:

Officer Ben Schweizer, Officer Kevin Day, Detective Phillip Degliomini, Detective Steve Motta, Sergeant Kevin Brewster, Officer Josefine Rivera, Officer Colin Tice, Officer Nicholas O’Connor, Detective Denise Tecce

The Township also recognized the following individuals who retired from the Cheltenham Township Police Department between 2020 and 2023:

  • John Thompson, K-9 (4/6/1992-4/30/2020)
  • Mark Bates, Detective (2/24/1988-4/30/2020)
  • John Frye, Chief of Police (11/3/1995-12/3/2021)
  • John McHugh, Police Support Staff (11/13/1997-12/28/2021)
  • John Weed, Deputy Chief of Police (8/17/1987-1/3/2022)
  • David Feinstein, Sergeant (2/22/1988-7/22/2022)
  • Daniel Schaeffer, Sergeant (7/12/2004-7/24/2022)
  • Jesse Tyler, Sergeant (2/15/1994-8/25/2022)
  • David Choi, Officer (6/4/2001-11/16/2022)
  • Michael Barone, Officer (1/5/1998-11/16/2022)
  • Edward Baskin, Sergeant (7/12/2004-12/20/2023)

…as well as retired crossing guards Sue Mcalary, Lloyd Benson, Mary Russell, and Michelle Settembrino.

Finally, the following officers were recognized for 20 years of service with the Department from 2020-2023:

Sergeant Michael Moore, Officer Jason Brennan, Officer Thomas Byrne, Officer Jason O’Keefe,
Officer Jason Thompson

To watch the video of swearing-in (minute mark 3:30), you can watch below:

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Photos: Cheltenham Township