On Thursday, less than 24 hours before the Mayor of Philadelphia was scheduled to speak at the Police Recruits’ graduation, a bombshell story was published on Philly.com that shed light on the practice of police officers, when performing a stop-and-frisk, reaching into the underwear of their subjects to search for contraband. The invasive-ness of the alleged searches, an act which the police commissioner denied having knowledge of, is illegal.
Mr. Jim Kenney made eliminating stop-and-frisk a centerpiece of his 2015 candidacy, though some voters have accused him of backtracking on that promise, and as the chief executive officer of the now 6th largest city in the nation, he has stated that his goal is that “no young black male going to school or going to work will be stopped because of the color of their skin.”
The Mayor’s goal is a good goal; it’s a great goal; it’s a goal I want to help him achieve. And because the goal is so admirable, I’m genuinely dismayed that on Friday he decided to not include it in the prepared remarks he shared with Recruit Class #380.
Philadelphia Mayor Mr. Jim Kenney. Photo Credit: C. Norris – ©2017
Members of the aforementioned class will transition to the Philadelphia Police Department – which has reduced the overall number of pedestrian stops in 2016 by more than 70 percent though they’ve made no progress mitigating the racial disparities – SEPTA Transit Police – which announced they will increase their after-school patrols at trains stations due to violence by teenagers – and the Bristol Township Police Department.
In his prepared remarks, which were sent to Techbook Online, the Mayor neither touted the City’s progress on reigning in pedestrian stops, nor reminded the graduating class of their duty to help continue that trend. Given the circumstances the City finds itself in – the threat of sanctions by a federal judge if true progress isn’t made in the stop-and-frisk program, the desire of the U.S. President to have local law enforcement cooperate with I.C.E agents despite the City’s position of the opposite, and the expectation of the public that drastic change in policing is afoot – the remarks appear to lack any urgency. However, the Mayor did emphasize that the first police-citizen interaction should be pleasant, and he encouraged officers to build friendships with the residents and business owners around them.
But, all things considered, the remarks to me fell flat. They lacked any real assertiveness, in my opinion, and failed to get across both the aim of a Fourth Amendment City – which Philadelphia is, according to the Mayor – and the uniqueness and severity of the moment we are all experiencing. I had no expectation that Mayor Kenney would say “Black Lives Matter,” which he hassaidduring his inaugural speech and other times afterwards, but I did anticipate a more declarative, more personal, and not-so politically correct presentation.
The police entering society today need a reality check, and Mayor Kenney, who has said several times that the public is in control of the police and not the other way around, has the lexicon and experiences to do such, which makes the commentary sent to Techbook Online on Friday, so disappointing.
This is real life: the police have the power of liberty and death in their hands, and they need to be reminded of that; it can’t be overstated. Officers headed to the streets need more than a pep talk about pleasantries and friendships, they need to be indoctrinated in constitutionality, righteousness, fairness and consequences.
Thanks for reading! Until next time, I’m Flood the Drummer® and I’m Drumming for Justice!™
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Photo courtesy of the author.