Solebury Township has found it’s next police chief.
On Tuesday evening, the Solebury Township Board of Supervisors voted to approve an employment agreement with Kelley Warner, a former Abington Township, Montgomery County deputy police chief and most recently the chief of the Harrisonburg, Virginia, Police Department.
Supervisor Chairperson Mark Baum Baicker said Warner will start in Monday, July 8.
Warner replaces current Chief Dominick Bellizzie, who will retire in early July.
Warner brings extensive experience to the job and served as the chief of the Harrisonburg, Virginia, Police Department since summer 2021.
The incoming chief is extremely familiar with the area and understands the community. She is a 26-year township resident, Baum Baicker said.
Baum Baicker explained that township officials looked at a number of qualified candidates before settling on Warner.
Warner is one of just a handful of female police chiefs and acting police chiefs who have served in Bucks County departments over the decades. Presently, Tinicum Township police Chief Nicole Madden is the only other female top cop working in Bucks County.
The outgoing chief, Bellizzie, has led the Solebury Township Police Department since June 1, 2006.
Bellizzie previously served as the police chief for the City of Coatesville in Chester County and was a commander in the Philadelphia Police Department.
Warner’s appointment follows shortly after former Solebury Township police Sgt. Kevin Edwards took over as chief of the New Hope Borough Police Department.
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