Dover mayor told police union members to publicly attack his council critics, report found
Dover City Council paid 21st Century Policing Solutions $50,000 to investigate police union complaints involving Mayor Robin Christiansen and Police Chief Thomas Johnson. The report, completed in mid-June 2026, found Christiansen told two officers in a June 2025 meeting to 'publicly attack' Councilmen Roy Sudler and Brian Lewis, who had criticized the chief, and urged the union president to go public with details of their personal lives. It called this 'nasty politics' but found no ethics-code violation. The council voted not to release the report; on Oct. 2, 2026 it released nine pages on the mayor, with his consent, and is withholding findings on the chief, whom the union accused of leadership and conduct failings. Separately, the Delaware Attorney General's office ruled in December 2025 that Dover violated FOIA by withholding the mayor's and chief's emails and texts. A FOIA appeal for the full report is pending.
Christiansen did tell two police officers during a meeting in June 2025 to 'publicly attack' Sudler and Lewis.
Dover violated FOIA by failing to demonstrate it properly denied access to the records.
Council President Fred Neil said releasing the rest of the report is up to the mayor or chief.
Says the report vindicates him and the chief and that the council should have waited to release the full report.
Contacted — no response by publication. This space stays open; any statement is added here in full.
No outcome recorded yet.