Son of top Philadelphia police union official charged with possessing a stolen gun
PHILADELPHIA - A top official with the powerful police officers union, the Fraternal Order of Police, say he supports his son who FOX 29 has learned is under arrest for carrying a firearm without a license - a weapon police say was stolen out of a southern state,
It was 11:35 p.m. last Tuesday night, Jan. 17, along the 2700 block of Hicks Street off Lehigh Avenue in North Philly.
According to a police arrest report, a Mazda, with a license plate baring the symbol of the city’s police union, the Fraternal Order of Police, was parked illegally. As an officer approaches, he sees the driver of the Mazda "reach down to the floor and then sit back up."
When the car door is opened the officer reports he finds a Glock .40 caliber pistol loaded with 14 live rounds at the feet of 19-year-old Cordell Poplar.
While the shades were pulled down as FOX 29 approached, no one answered the door at the Poplar home.
FOX 29 wanted to ask the teenager what he was doing with a loaded gun at his feet without a license - an illegal firearm that police say was stolen out of the state of Georgia.
Instead, FOX 29 spoke to his father, the longtime vice president of the city’s Fraternal Order of Police, Roosevelt Poplar.
On the phone, Poplar, an active police officer for over 30 years, argued "this was not really a big story."
"As a father, I will support my son as he and his attorney address these charges," Roosevelt Poplar added in a statement to FOX 29. "Under our system of law, my son is entitled to due-process and will address the allegations at an appropriate time in a court of law. The safety and welfare of our rank and file police officers also remains my top priority and I support our officers working tirelessly to keep our communities safe."
Asked about the FOP plate on the Mazda, Roosevelt Poplar said his son was driving a car registered to him when arrested, and added that he lives with him.
Cordell Poplar is charged with carrying a firearm without a license, carrying a firearm in public and receiving stolen property.
His attorneys, the high profile firm of McMonagle and Perri, had no comment.