Sean Reifel’s family defend Love Island USA star for quitting his job as a cop
'The mayor doesn't see what a huge missed opportunity this was'
The family of Sean Reifel have seemingly rushed to his defence after the Love Island USA cast member was publicly dragged by the mayor of Pennsylvania for quitting his job as a cop to join the show.
He quit his job after less than a year in order to join the cast, with both the mayor and the chief of police saying how “disappointed they are in him.”
According to local outlet WHTM, the mayor of Bethlehem, J William Reynolds commented: “Our police department spent a lot of time training. 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.”
He continued: “I never thought I’d see the day in America where reality show participation wins out over being a police officer.”
Sean’s former boss, Police Chief Michelle Knott also spoke about his decision to quit the force to join the show, saying he thinks it’s a “bad look.”
Speaking to The Morning Call, Michelle explained: “I love Sean, he’s a good guy, he was a great officer, but I’m disappointed.”
He added that him leaving so suddenly was “extremely difficult”, saying: “We work so incredibly hard to try to recruit the best people we can to be part of the Bethlehem Police Department”, and that recruiting officers has become essential due to “manpower issues that we were experiencing on patrol as well as our vice unit.”
Michelle also clarified why Sean Reifel wouldn’t have been allowed to take a break from his job to go on Love Island USA rather than quit completely. He explained: “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.”
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However, his mother and sister have now defended Sean Reifel, with both of them saying they’re “proud” he quit his job as a cop to join Love Island USA.
Sean’s sister, Brice Marie commented underneath an Instagram post about her brother, writing: “Sean’s sister here. This could have been a great opportunity for the mayor and police department to connect with the community, generate positive publicity for the town, and help improve perceptions of law enforcement.
“Instead, they chose a response that will likely reinforce the stereotypes they should be working to change. That said, I couldn’t be more excited for my brother and this amazing opportunity. We’ll be cheering him on every step of the way.”
His mother, Beth, also commented under a different post, sharing: “This is Sean’s mom and this makes me very sad because the mayor doesn’t see what a huge missed opportunity this was. I care about facts so let’s start with Sean put in for leave.
“Secondly they didn’t pay for a full academy for Sean. Sean came to PA after being a Contra Sheriff Deputy since April 2021 and they paid to put him through a full academy. I’m not saying they didn’t do any training but they also weren’t fully honest about all the details. I’m proud of my son. It is a brave decision to out yourself out there to find love under the microscope of the world.”
Reality Shrine has contacted the Pennsylvania Police Department for comment.
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