Two Delco officials air their feud over an ‘illegal’ traffic stop in dueling lawsuits

A traffic stop in a small Delaware County borough has become the focal point in a bitter public feud between two government officials who have accused each other of wielding official authority to settle a personal grudge.

Brookhaven Council President Terry Heller has filed a federal civil-rights lawsuit against the borough and its former police chief, Michael Vice, saying he was targeted in an “illegal, unconstitutional” traffic stop and later falsely portrayed as an alcoholic and a criminal.

Heller’s filing comes months after Vice — who resigned last year after the borough council suspended him amid complaints about his leadership of the 10-member police department — filed his own legal action against Heller and the borough in Delaware County court.

Lawyers representing the two men in the federal case did not respond to requests for comment.

Heller contends in his suit that Vice and his officers “hunted” him using a law enforcement database that tracks license plates. He said they did so because he had voted against a measure to give a raise to the officer who pulled him over.

In Vice’s lawsuit, the former chief says Heller and others on the council defamed him, breached his contract by suspending him, and ruined his professional reputation to such a degree that he’s now struggling to find another job in law enforcement.

After Vice was suspended, Heller disparaged him on social media, according to his lawsuit, calling him a “criminal son of a bitch” and accusing him of stalking other officers using the same license-plate database mentioned in Heller’s filing.

Heller and others on the council have said they suspended Vice in part because the president of local Fraternal Order of Police said he was “spiteful, vindictive, and retaliatory to officers who are lawfully exercising their workplace rights.”

Council did not mention the traffic stop involving Heller as a factor in Vice’s suspension, but the suit said the former chief believes it played a role in the decision.

Vice’s lawsuit said the traffic stop was legitimate. One of his officers saw Heller make a left turn against a red light, and suspected him of driving under the influence, Vice said. Heller’s blood-alcohol level was .07, just under the legal limit, and he was charged only with traffic violations.

After the traffic stop, the suit said, the former chief issued a news release saying Heller had an “odor of alcoholic beverage on his breath,” something he denies and said was intended to slander him and damage his character and reputation.

As a consequence, Heller said, he suffered “emotional distress and humiliation; loss of reputation and standing in the community; fear, anxiety, and invasion of privacy; and financial and political harms.“

Bruce L. Castor Jr., the attorney who filed the lawsuit on Vice’s behalf, said Friday that Heller’s suit has no merit. Vice, by contrast, he said, has a “strong course of action” for his contention that the Brookhaven borough council breached his contract.

As for Heller, Castor said, “The arrogance of some local politicians is still dazzling even after all my years in the game. When the chips are down, and things look their bleakest, remember that a good offense is the best defense.”