Philadelphia Police FOP responds to city controller’s audit, claims it maligns the department

NORTHEAST PHILADELPHIA - The leader of the Fraternal Order of Police is sharply criticizing the City Controller’s audit of the police department claiming it makes the leadership of the department appear as if, "…they can’t do anything right."

The bombshell audit released yesterday by City Controller Rebecca Rhynhart found there are 640 fewer cops than five years ago. It revealed in a department of 6,000 officers, only 2,500 are on patrol and, stretched over 21 police districts, sometimes as few as 11 to 22 officers are on the street at any one time.

In a late morning press conference, FOP President John McNesby said, "A lot of the stuff that’s in here, we’ve already been working to solve. You think we want 11 cops or five cops at a roll call? Absolutely not."

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Standing in the lobby of the Northeast Philadelphia union headquarters, McNesby tied the critical report to Rhynhart’s interest in running for mayor. McNesby said, "If you want to run for mayor, we wish you luck, but don’t do it on the backs of hard-working police officers in the city of Philadelphia."

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In response, Rhynhart said, "Mr. McNesby would rather politicize a problem that get to its root cause."

The controller’s audit, costing around $300,000, also found police response times in white neighborhoods is twice as fast as in communities of color. It also revealed there are 570 officers off the street with injuries and a state program which pays injured police their full salaries tax-free, is ripe for abuse.

McNesby said 10 percent of the cops off the job could return to work and he would like them to. He also said in some districts there as few as four or five officers in roll call to begin their day patrolling the streets of Philadelphia.