Pennsylvania Mayor and Police Chief ‘Disappointed’ After Local Officer Quit to Join ‘Love Island’

Sean Reifel was working as an officer at the Bethlehem Police Department in Pennsylvania when he made a drastic life choice, resigning from his role in law enforcement to pursue reality TV after being given a chance to join Love Island.

However, his decision clearly ruffled some feathers back home as both the town’s mayor and the police chief shared their disappointment in Reifel’s departure.

“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,” Mayor J. William Reynolds told local news outlet ABC station WHTM. “I never thought I’d see the day in America where reality show participation wins out over being a police officer.”

For her part, Reifel’s former boss and Police Chief Michelle Kott revealed that the department does not allow officers to take on second jobs, leaving Reifel no choice.

“I love Sean, he’s a good guy, he was a great officer, but I’m disappointed,” she said, according to Entertainment Weekly. “Just because we work so incredibly hard to try to recruit the best people we can to be part of the Bethlehem Police Department.”

She explained that the department is “struggling to fill vacancies,” adding, “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. Officers are getting burnt out. It’s just a bad look to me.”

Reifel worked as an officer in Bethlehem for less than a year before quitting to join the reality dating show. Season 8 of Love Island premiered Tuesday, June 2.