Pennsylvania Mayor Calls Out Cop Who Gave Up Badge to Star in ‘Love Island USA’
Sean Reifel says he loved his job as a police officer in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. But he still gave up his badge to join the cast of Love Island USA Season 8. Now, the town’s mayor is calling out the former cop for ditching patrolling the streets for poolside life in the villa.
Police officer quits job to join ‘Love Island USA’ cast
“I don’t have anything against this individual personally,” J. William Reyonds told TMZ Live on June 1. “But from our point of view – it’s like I tell my kid at the park. If you leave litter there someone’s got to pick it up. And for us, who are struggling like every city across the country to attract and retain police officers, there’s an opportunity cost when we invest money in somebody and then they decide to leave after eight or nine months.”
“It’s not even about him. It’s just about this general idea that when we make decisions, there are consequences that affect other people,” the mayor added.
Reynolds acknowledged that for some, the lure of fame might be strong. But he urged young people to consider their long-term goals and plans, as well as the value of working in a job that helps build community and give their life meaning.
“Reality television or what’s best for you next week might not be what’s best for your five or 10 years down the road,” he pointed out.
That said, Reynolds is not too concerned that Bethlehem – a former steel-making hub with a population of about 75,000 – will be losing out on too many potential new police recruits.
“We have a great city, and I don’t think we’re going to have an epidemic of people leaving for reality television shows,” he said.
Police chief ‘disappointed’ by Sean Reifel’s decision to quite force for reality TV
Sean hasn’t weighed in on the mayor’s comments about his pivot to reality TV. But even though the proud dad has walked away from police work, he says that helping people who were having a difficult time was one thing that he liked about his job.
“I’m not a model, not an actor. I’m a police officer, actually,” the 29-year-old shared in Peacock’s “Meet the Islanders” teaser. “You could be having the worst day or your life, and I’d just help you sift through that.”
Sean’s former boss said that he was good at his job and that she was sad to see him leave the force.
“I love Sean, he’s a good guy, he was a great officer, but I’m disappointed,” Bethlehem police Chief Michelle Kott told The Morning Call. “Just because we work so incredibly hard to try to recruit the best people we can to be part of the Bethlehem Police Department.”
Kott added that the department currently has multiple vacancies it’s trying to fill. Granting Sean a leave of absence wasn’t an option, she added, because it would put additional pressure on already strained officers.
“At this time, I don’t think there’d be a department that would be willing to allow someone to leave for ‘x’ amount of weeks to go on a television show when everyone’s hurting right now and overtime is being utilized to fill those gaps,” she said. “Officers are getting burnt out. It’s just a bad look to me.”
Love Island USA Season 8 premieres Tuesday, June 2 at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT on Peacock.
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