East Berlin police chief was supposed to be disciplined for sharing 'offensive' memes. Was he?

The comment read, "Animals don’t play well with each other."

In 2015, York City Police Officer Terry Seitz, a 16-year veteran, was placed on administrative leave based on allegations that he posted comments on Facebook, including that remark, under a newspaper story about a brawl at a basketball game between William Penn Senior High School and Harrisburg High School — an article that featured a photo of two Black players. He later retired.

Today, Seitz is the police chief in East Berlin, Adams County. He’s recently got into trouble for sharing several memes on Facebook, which one borough council member described as “offensive and improper.”

The East Berlin Borough Council in December voted 6-1 to discipline Seitz, handing down a two-week suspension without pay. But now some council members are asserting that they’ve been kept in the dark and don’t know whether that punishment has been imposed.

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In an email, Councilwoman Anne Geiger wrote that Council President Roberta Teal and Mayor Keith Hoffman are not enforcing the vote to discipline Seitz. They’re “now silent on the issue.”

“It is our duty to hold him accountable to serve without bias or prejudice and to govern under the rules of the Pennsylvania Borough Code,” Geiger said.

Geiger described the posts as “offensive and improper,” adding that they clearly violated borough policy. Many of them, she said, could be viewed as racist, prejudiced or misogynist. 

Neither Teal nor Hoffman could be reached.

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When reached at the East Berlin Borough Police Department, Seitz said, “I cannot comment on anything.” He said he’d pass along a reporter’s contact information to Teal and Hoffman.

Seitz said the allegations that he’d posted racist comments on Facebook while with the York City Police Department were “unfounded.” He suggested that the mayor and police chief at the time agreed but did not elaborate.

At the time, York Mayor Kim Bracey called the posts “insensitive and tasteless.”

Bracey, the city’s first Black mayor, said she did not think the comments were meant to be racist. That’s because she knew Seitz in a professional setting.

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The East Berlin Borough Council meeting on Jan. 13 ended after about 10 minutes when council members failed to approve the agenda. That happened after some questioned whether they were going to vote on the December meeting minutes, which should have mentioned the discipline against the police chief.

Councilman Dave Meixner said he feels that the posts were irresponsible and reflect poor judgment.

Seitz, he said, was supposed to begin his two-week suspension on Dec. 20, 2020. But he then had to quarantine due to potential exposure to COVID-19.

Meixner said members have not received answers about what’s happening with the discipline.

Said Meixner: “I am very confused — baffled —  why follow-through hasn’t happened.”

Contact Dylan Segelbaum at 717-771-2102.