By Emily Babay
Philly.com
PHILADELPHIA — Here are some things to know about retiring Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey’s tenure in Philadelphia:
1. Homicide drop: Philadelphia was fighting the “Killadelphia” moniker when Ramsey took over in 2008. In 2007, Philadelphia had recorded 391 homicides and that was a drop from the 406 slayings in the city the previous year. In 2008, Ramsey’s first year, there were 331 killings. The number of homicides has fallen further through the commissioner’s tenure, to 246 in 2013 and 248 in 2014, according to police department data.
2. Presidential task force leader: President Obama appointed Ramsey to chair his task force on 21st century police. The Ramsey-led task force made recommendations about how to improve police departments’ relations with the communities they serve. Among other measures, the task force’s report recommended implementing independent processes for investigating officer-involved shootings.
3. Police-involved shootings: Shootings by Philadelphia officers spiked during Ramsey’s tenure, and the commissioner asked for a Department of Justice review into the police department’s use of force. The DOJ study recommended changes in procedures and training for the department. Under Ramsey, the department has also instituted reforms like naming cops involved in shootings, unless there is a threat to their safety.
4. Officer deaths: Leading the police department has been a sorrowful job at times. Eight officers have been killed in the line of duty since 2007, most recently Officer Robert Wilson, fatally shot in a gun battle at a North Philadelphia GameStop earlier this year.
5. Corrupt cops: Ramsey has had harsh word for officers on his force accused of corruption. In one of the most high-profile cases, he called the actions of six narcotics officers accused (and later acquitted) of beating drug suspects and fabricating reports “one of the worst cases of corruption I have ever heard” and vowed to destroy their badges. The department has been marred by dozens of other cops dismissed for criminal and non-criminal violations in recent years, and continuing to weed out corruption will continue to be a key concern for the department’s next leader.
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