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Who is Sean Reifel? Love Island contestant blasted by Pennsylvania Mayor for stepping down from cop duties for show
Bethlehem Mayor J. William Reynolds criticized Sean Reifel for resigning from the police department to join Love Island USA.
Season 8 participant Sean Reifel from Love Island USA faced criticism from a mayor in Pennsylvania for stepping down from his police responsibilities to take part in the dating reality television series.
Mayor J. William Reynolds tears into Sean Reifel
Mayor J. William Reynolds of Bethlehem accused the 29-year-old Reifel of purportedly leaving the Bethlehem Police Department understaffed, just under a year after his swearing-in.
Speaking to WHTM, Reynolds said, “Our police department spent a lot of time training and we paid thousands of taxpayer dollars to send him to the police academy.”
“We are disappointed he left as we now have another vacancy in our department that is impossible to fill until next year."
“I never thought I’d see the day in America where reality show participation wins out over being a police officer," he added.
Sean Reifel's former supervisor shows disappointment over resignation
Reifel's previous supervisor, Police Chief Michelle Kott, expressed her disappointment regarding the resignation.
During the weekend, Kott remarked to the local news source, The Morning Call, that he has great affection for Sean as he is a wonderful person and an excellent officer, but he is still disappointed.
“We work so incredibly hard to try to recruit the best people we can to be part of the Bethlehem Police Department.”
Kott also elaborated on the reasons why the forthcoming reality star could not take a leave of absence and subsequently return to his responsibilities after the show.
“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,” Kott stated. “Officers are getting burnt out. It’s just a bad look to me.”
Reifel says ‘I’m not an actor, I’m a police officer’
In spite of his resignation, Reifel still presented himself to Peacock viewers as a police officer in the second official trailer that unveiled the first 12 Islanders.
“I’m not a model, I’m not an actor, I’m a police officer, actually,” Reifel proudly declared as he demonstrated his upper body strength by walking on his hands.
The native of Pennsylvania has already garnered attention for reportedly being embroiled in a contentious custody dispute with the mother of his two-year-old son.
Reifel is not the sole cast member from Season 8 to encounter criticism before the season's premiere.
