\u201cLove Island USA\u201d Season 8 contestant Sean Reifel was blasted by a Pennsylvania mayor for resigning from his cop duties to compete on the dating reality TV show.<\/p>\n
Bethlehem Mayor J. William Reynolds blamed 29-year-old Reifel for allegedly leaving the Bethlehem Police Department short-staffed less than a year after he was sworn in.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur police department spent a lot of time training and we paid thousands of taxpayer dollars to send him to the police academy,\u201d Reynolds told local news outlet WHTM<\/a>. <\/p>\n \u201cWe are disappointed he left as we now have another vacancy in our department that is impossible to fill until next year.\u201d<\/p>\n Mayor of Bethlehem, J. William Reynolds, slammed \u201cLove Island USA\u201d Season 8 contestant Sean Reifel for resigning as a police officer to go on the reality show. (Both men pictured above). Bethlehem Police Department<\/p>\n \u201cOur police department spent a lot of time training and we paid thousands of taxpayer dollars to send him to the police academy,\u201d the mayor said while condemning the upcoming reality star. Ben Symons\/Peacock<\/p>\n He added, \u201cI never thought I\u2019d see the day in America where reality show participation wins out over being a police officer.\u201d<\/p>\n Reifel\u2019s former boss, Police Chief\u00a0Michelle Kott, also voiced his disappointment over the resignation.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI love Sean, he\u2019s a good guy, he was a great officer, but I\u2019m disappointed,\u201d Kott told local outlet\u00a0The Morning Call<\/a>\u00a0over the weekend. <\/p>\n \u201cWe work so incredibly hard to try to recruit the best people we can to be part of the Bethlehem Police Department.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe are disappointed he left as we now have another vacancy in our department that is impossible to fill until next year,\u201d Reynolds concluded of Reifel (seen above). parm3_sean\/Instagram<\/p>\n Despite his resignation from the force, Reifel (pictured in 2022) still introduced himself to Peacock viewers as a cop in the official trailer for Season 8. parm3_sean\/Instagram<\/p>\n Kott also explained why the upcoming reality star was unable to take a leave of absence and return to his duties after the show.<\/p>\n \u201cAt this time, I don\u2019t think there\u2019d be a department that would be willing to allow someone to leave for \u2018x\u2019 amount of weeks to go on a television show when everyone\u2019s hurting right now and overtime is being utilized to fill those gaps,\u201d Kott said. \u201cOfficers are getting burnt out. It\u2019s just a bad look to me.\u201d<\/p>\n Despite his resignation, Reifel still introduced himself to Peacock viewers as a cop in the second official trailer that revealed the first 12 Islanders.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m not a model, I\u2019m not an actor, I\u2019m a police officer actually,\u201d Reifel boasted. Peacock\/Instagram<\/p>\n He also showed off his strength by walking on his hands. Peacock\/Instagram<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m not a model, I\u2019m not an actor, I\u2019m a police officer, actually.\u201d Reifel boasted while showing off his upper body strength by walking on his hands. \u201cYou could be having the worst day of your life, and I\u2019ll just help you sift through that.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n The Pennsylvania native has already made headlines for allegedly being involved in a nasty custody battle<\/a> with the mother of his 2-year-old son.<\/p>\n Reifel isn\u2019t the only Season 8 cast member to face backlash before the season even premiered.<\/p>\n Reifel is also a single father of a 2-year-old son, pictured here. parm3_sean\/Instagram<\/p>\n The \u201cLove Island\u201d newbie made headlines for in a custody battle with the child\u2019s mother. parm3_sean\/Instagram<\/p>\n Contestant Vasana Montgomery was axed from the upcoming season<\/a> after videos surfaced of her using a racial slur.<\/p>\n The 26-year-old contestant from Beaverton, Oregon, was filmed allegedly singing the N-word in a song lyric,\u00a0according to TMZ.<\/p>\n A source close to production\u00a0told Decider<\/a>\u00a0that the videos were privately owned and that they were only made aware of them after Montgomery had been announced as part of the cast.<\/p>\n