By Kristen A. Graham
The Philadelphia Inquirer
PHILADELPHIA — A Philadelphia School District safety officer was shot multiple times while on duty early Sunday morning in an apparent case of road rage, according to Philadelphia police.
The 68-year-old man, whom police declined to identify, was in critical but stable condition at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital on Sunday afternoon.
The officer was driving a marked district car in the 300 block of North Christopher Columbus Boulevard around 1:45 a.m. Sunday when he was shot by “two offender males” in a Hyundai SUV, according to reports from the police, as well as from Monique Braxton, a school district spokesperson.
After being shot, the officer crashed his car into a tree. He was transported to Jefferson, police said.
Police said they recovered four 9mm spent casings from the scene.
“The motive appears to be road rage,” a police spokesperson said. No one has been arrested in the investigation, which was being conducted by the Shooting Investigation Group, police said.
The officer was finishing a patrol assignment at a shelter and was heading back to a district garage, said Bernadette Ambrose-Smith , president of the Philadelphia School Police Association of Philadelphia, the union that represents district safety officers.
School officers patrol shelters as well as the district’s 216 schools and assorted buildings, even when classes are not in session.
The officer was not armed — Philadelphia School District safety officers wear bulletproof vests, but may carry only batons and Mace.
Philadelphia’s school police force was rebranded and reshaped in 2020 under now- Philadelphia Police Commissioner Kevin Bethel, who was the district’s head of school safety at the time.
Officers’ job titles were changed from “school police officer” to “school safety officer” and their uniforms were also changed, from traditional police-style shirts to polos. The aim was to make officers more accessible, underscoring their role as mentors and trusted adults to students and de-emphasizing their law-and-order role.
That has caused some contention in the ranks among those who believe the changes de-professionalized the force.
“They changed our title, but never changed our job — that’s the sad thing,” said Ambrose-Smith. “We have more work, not less work, and now we’re in a labeled car, and if somebody’s asking for help, we have to help. Nobody gives us any thought or respect, until it’s needed.”
Bethel, reached Sunday, said, “as someone who oversaw the [unarmed] school district safety security team, I found them to be highly dedicated and committed to keeping the school community safe.
“The tragic event last night is unacceptable, the mayor has been briefed and we have our top investigators working hard to identify the individual[s] responsible,” Bethel said. “We will find them and bring them to justice.”
The officer who was shot is a veteran of the district’s security force, with almost 20 years protecting schools. He’s a retired Philadelphia police officer, said Ambrose-Smith, who spent several hours at the hospital with the officer’s family overnight. Other district officers are still keeping vigil with the family at Jefferson, she said.
“It’s terrible,” Ambrose-Smith said of the shooting. “It’s sad. I’ve been expecting something like this to happen, but I just prayed it wouldn’t. We just have to pray for him, pray for his family.”
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