LACEYVILLE -- Laceyville borough officials voted Tuesday night to reinstate a suspended police officer.
Full-time officer Matt Chamberlain, who has been with the department for two years, was suspended without pay in June after pictures surfaced of him selling a semi-automatic weapon from his police cruiser while on duty.
The pictures were taken outside a business in Wyalusing, Bradford County, where Laceyville police patrol.
"I'm glad this whole unfortunate situation is behind us so we can move forward and we can start patrolling again," said Laceyville Police Chief Scott Perry.
After the apparent gun sale, Officer Chamberlain was suspended without pay, not for the sale, which officials said was legal, but for conducting personal business while on duty.
Now, Laceyville officials have decided to reinstate Officer Chamberlain immediately and put him on six months' probation.
People living in Laceyville had mixed opinions about the decision, but most Newswatch 16 spoke with seemed happy with it.
"Who am I to say? I'm just a citizen, you know?" said one woman who said she supported whatever borough officials decided. She did not want to give her name.
"I don't think he should lose his job. I think it was a poor decision and he shouldn't have done it on duty but he's a great cop in this town. I haven't been here long but from what I hear and what I see, he's a great cop, there's no reason he should lose his job over it. Bad decision, but some people do that. People make mistakes," said Ashley Welch of Laceyville.
Officer Chamberlain was not at Tuesday night's meeting in Laceyville.