An officer (& chief) & a gentleman

There will be something distinctly different about Yeadon Borough today. Something – or rather someone – will be missing. Don Molineux will no longer be the top lawman in town.

Molineux brought the curtain down on a 41-year career in law enforcement yesterday, retiring after spending the last 29 years as Yeadon Borough chief.

As you might expect, law enforcement has changed just a bit over those past four decades. One thing has not: Don Molineux has always been the real thing.

What you saw is what you got: An honest cop, one dedicated to keeping his community safe.

That’s something else that has changed over the years. Towns like Yeadon and Darby Borough – where Molineux grew up – have changed over the years. Business fled the eastern part of the county. As the economy faltered, crime went up.

Molineux saw all those changes first hand.

He grew up in Darby Borough, and modeled his career after lawmen like Chief Russell Emery and Detective Thomas Salerno of the Darby Borough force.

He graduated from West Catholic High School and did a stint in the U.S. Marine Corps before coming home and embarking in a career in the law.

Molineux joined the Yeadon force in April 1975, and was among the very first grads from the Delaware County Municipal Academy. He attended the prestigious FBI Academy in Quantico, Va., and served as president of the Delaware County Police Chief Association.

But being the town’s top cop has never been about a job or titles to Molineux. It’s always been about people, both those he worked for – the residents of Yeadon – and those he worked with, fellow officers from the borough and across the region.

Maybe that’s why no less than five local police chiefs gathered last week to honor their fellow lawman. The chief also was presented a citation from state Rep. Joanna McClinton, who represents Yeadon in Harrisburg.

Perhaps emblematic of Molineux’s calm, easy going manner was something that happened in 1981. The town’s economic problems led to him being laid off. He took a job with SEPTA’s Transit Police Department. He soon was rising up the ranks, attending the Philadelphia Police Academy. He advanced to become a detective and eventually to lieutenant.

But he still heard home calling, and when he got the opportunity to return to the borough, he never thought twice – even if it meant taking an economic hit along the way.

That’s right. Molineux took less money to return to Yeadon.

He was soon promoted to lieutenant and in May 1988 – at the age of 37 – Molineux was named chief in Yeadon Borough. He’s been the borough’s top cop ever since. Until today. When Molineux joined the Yeadon department, there were 20 full-time officers and seven part-timers. Those numbers have changed a bit. Today there are 14 full-time officers and 10 part-timers.

What has not changed is the demands of the job. Yeadon police respond to anywhere from 850 to 1,100 calls a month.

His department – especially when it comes to dealing with the public – followed the chief’s lead.

Nether Providence Chief David Splain, who spent 25 years working under Molineux in Yeadon, sums up the man in two words.

Professional and a gentleman. And he wanted his officers to be the same.

There is a reason for that. Molineux never looked at the residents as strangers. He always treated them like family.

“Forty-one years I had the honor and privilege to serve the residents. It’s like family,” Molineux said.

That’s evident in some of the programs he’s pushed while serving as chief, including the Community Policing Program, bike patrols, DARE program, a Youth Aid panel, and a Police Athletic League organization.

He’s also proud that his force was among the first to push hard into the area of computerassisted crime-fighting.

And the borough recently received word that they will receive a $17,000 state grant to fund eight body cameras for officers while on patrol.

“I enjoyed every day I came to work,” Molineux said. “I’m gonna miss it, without a doubt.”

Not nearly as much as Yeadon, and the rest of the Delaware County law enforcement community, is going to miss him.