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<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; An officer facing a 45-day, unpaid suspension received a bit of a reprieve with a stay of the disciplinary action pending a meeting with Police Chief Marcella Lendacky.</p><p>The chief on Monday said she cannot comment on personnel matters.</p><p>Sgt. Phil Myers, president of the Wilkes-Barre Police Benevolent Association, confirmed the stay for the officer, whose name has not been released. Details of the suspension also have not been disclosed.</p><p>Myers said the meeting is scheduled for later this week and the stay was issued after the union filed the first part of the grievance process for the officer.</p><p>The stay occurred against the backdrop of a third-party review of the department and the growing divide between the union on one side and Lendacky, Commander Ron Foy and Mayor Tony George, who appointed the chief, on the other.</p><p>The union did not support Lendacky&#8217;s appointment and her two-year tenure has been marked by numerous labor complaints against the city, suspensions of PBA members and the firing of the union&#8217;s vice president for an alleged threat contained in an email to the mayor.</p><p>Myers, who just completed a 15-day suspension and served a 12-day suspension last year, joined fired Patrol Officer Dan Duffy, a former Scranton police chief who joined the Wilkes-Barre force in 2014, in a suit filed earlier this year in federal court against the city, alleging they were retaliated against for their union activities and bringing to light what they say is mismanagement of the department.</p><p>The officers have not been the only ones affected by the discipline. Chase, one of the two dogs in the K9 unit, has been taken out of service for public safety reasons for biting three people, including an officer during an arrest. A settlement of a grievance with the union will transfer the other dog, Skoty, to a new officer. The chief miscalculated the score of the officer who tested to work the K9 unit and assigned the duty to another officer, according to the union.</p><p>Since being hired late last year by city council, the Pennsylvania Chiefs of Police Association has been conducting an assessment and review of the department in order to present recommendations to the mayor to resolve the differences. The PCPA estimated it would take approximately 10 weeks to complete its project.</p><style>
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<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Jerry Lynott</p><p>jlynott@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Jerry Lynott at 570-991-6120 or on Twitter @TLJerryLynott.</p></shirttailMeta></div>

45-day suspension stayed for W-B police officer; meets with chief this week