Former Whitemarsh Township police officer Francis X. Wheatley will be inducted into the Upper Dublin High School Alumni Hall of Fame in April.
Wheatley, now Upper Dublin Township's chief of police, is one of 10 graduates selected for the hall of fame's sixth class, Around Ambler reported Oct. 24. The program, announced by Upper Dublin High School Principal Dr. Daniel Ortiz and program chairperson Dr. Heidi Yutzler-Overton, honors graduates who have achieved distinction in their professions or communities.
A 1982 Upper Dublin High School graduate, Wheatley was hired by the Whitemarsh Township Police Department in 1986 after earning an associate degree from Montgomery County Community College. He rose through the ranks at Whitemarsh, earning promotions to detective, patrol sergeant and patrol lieutenant and receiving numerous commendations, including a Commendation of Valor, The Reporter noted in a June 2019 profile.
His Whitemarsh career was long. The hall of fame press release lists his service there as 1986 to 2015. The Reporter's 2019 profile described it as 30 years with the department.
During his years in Whitemarsh, Wheatley helped establish a Youth Aid Panel, a COP Camp for kids, a Citizen Police Academy and a Volunteers in Police Service program, according to The Reporter. He also developed a Victim's Assistance Liaison Unit and a Senior Assistance Program.
After leaving Whitemarsh, Wheatley served as police chief in Upper Pottsgrove Township from 2016 to 2019. He was sworn in as Upper Dublin's chief of police in May 2019, according to The Reporter. The Upper Dublin Township Police Department website lists him as chief of police.
In the 2019 profile, Wheatley described watching police cars pass Sandy Run Junior High on Twining Road as a student. "It left a lasting impression," he told The Reporter.
Wheatley is also an FBI National Academy graduate and holds a bachelor's degree from Saint Joseph's University and a master's from Wilmington University, according to The Reporter.
The hall of fame ceremony is scheduled for Friday, April 9, 2027, at Upper Dublin High School. The day includes student interactions, a continental breakfast and a building tour. An evening dessert reception and awards program will take place in the school's Performing Arts Center. Tickets go on sale in early March 2027.
Among the other nine inductees is Linda Long-Cumberbatch, inducted posthumously, who was the first female volunteer firefighter at the Wissahickon Fire Company in 1984.
