Former Yeadon police chief reaches settlement with borough following discrimination suit

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The Borough of Yeadon quietly reached a settlement with former police chief Anthony “Chachi” Paparo, who sued his ex-employer in federal court for racial discrimination.

Paparo filed a lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania shortly after his ousting. In February 2022, Yeadon Borough Council voted 4-3 to fire Paparo, citing performance issues.

“It was a sham proceeding, the votes to fire him already cast and known beforehand,” Paparo’s attorneys wrote in the legal complaint. “Moreover, it occurred among false and defamatory charges that Chief Paparo was guilty of money mismanagement and wage theft in connection with the Borough’s collective bargaining agreement with the Fraternal Order of Police.”

Paparo, who held his post for four years, said he was fired because he was white. The borough is 90% Black, and Paparo’s attorneys argued his race did not matter to the residents he served. However, he accused the council majority of plotting against him.

“To them, Yeadon was a Black town, and they wanted a Black Chief of Police to replace plaintiff Paparo,” the complaint read.

Paparo’s allegations, which were publicly supported by the dissenting members of the borough council, set off a firestorm of public pushback. The parties reached a settlement on Feb. 26, shortly before trial. An attorney on Paparo’s legal team declined to immediately comment on the terms of the settlement.

Yeadon officials did not respond to requests for comment on the recent case termination.

Yeadon’s police department has been embroiled in controversy in recent years. Two people killed themselves in police custody in 2022, prompting a pair of lawsuits. An independent study found the death of one woman to be “preventable.”