Lehighton Chief of Police Neil Ebbert has been on suspension for the past 5 1/2 weeks.

A borough official said Ebbert was suspended when the council held a special meeting on June 3.The official said because the matter is a personnel issue, they could not make any further comment.They also could not say when Ebbert would return to duty or why the suspension occurred.Ebbert has been chief of police in Lehighton since January 2012.Sgt. Joseph Lawrence is presently the officer in charge of the department.Ebbert has been a police officer for Lehighton borough since 1989 and was named corporal of the department 13 years ago.