Philadelphia Police Department Totally Explained

Everything about The Philadelphia Police Department totally explained

The Philadelphia Police Department (PPD) is the police agency responsible for law enforcement and investigations within the City of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is one of the oldest municipal police agencies in the United States, and the fourth largest in the country.

Departmental history

Prior to 1830 the City's police system consisted only of nightly watchmen's patrols directed by the constables of each ward. An ordinance of December 30 of that year first established a "police patrol" which served throughout the day as well as night. Many ordinances extended the scope of the system; in 1833 the City Commissioners' function of lighting the streets was transferred to it and in 1841 a full-scale Police Department was created under the direction of the Mayor.
The Marshal Bill (Act of May 3, 1850) established a Philadelphia Police District which embraced the City and the adjoining Districts of Spring Garden, Kensington, the Northern Liberties, Richmond, Penn, Southwark, and Moyamensing. A forerunner of the City-County consolidation of 1854, this new organization solved problems that had arisen through the demarcation of police powers at City and District boundaries. With the Consolidation a County-wide Department of Police was established and duties in regard to street lighting were transferred to the Department of Gas.
After 1857 the Department of Police was headed by a Chief appointed by the Mayor; in 1859 a Detective Division was formed within the Department and in the following year a River and Harbor Police were added to it. In 1864 the office of Fire Marshal was created within the Department, where it remained until 1937. In pursuance of the Bullitt Bill the Department was transferred in 1887 to the then-established Department of Public Safety as the Bureau of Police. With the adoption of the City Charter of 1951 and the abolishment of the Department of Public Safety the present Police Department was organized.

Notable events in history

In 1881, the Philadelphia Police Department hired its first African-American police officer.
   In 1887, the police department was put under control of the city's Department of Public Safety. Two years later, the PPD inaugurated its mounted patrol (which was recently disbanded in 2004).
   In 1906, the motorcycle was introduced to the Philadelphia police.
   In 1939, radio-installed patrol cars were put into use.
   In 1979, the PPD reached its peak size at approximately 8,500 officers.
   In 1981, PPD Officer Daniel Faulkner was shot while arresting a motorist. Journalist and former Black Panther Mumia Abu-Jamal (né Wesley Cook), shot and was charged with Officer Faulkner's murder (as he allegedly admitted to shooting Faulkner upon arrival in the hospital for treatment for wounds suffered when Officer Faulkner returned fire). The incident, subsequent trial and conviction of Jamal remains a topic of controversy around the world.
   In 1985, the Philadelphia Police dropped a mixture of civilian and military explosives on a "home-made" wood bunker, built on the roof of the Osage Avenue house occupied by members of the MOVE organization. The bomb ignited several barrels of gasoline starting a fire which destroyed the entire block and killed eleven people.
   In the early 1990s, a corruption scandal centered around officers in the department's 39th district in North Philadelphia led to the prosecutions of 6 officers, and attracted nationwide attention.
   In May 2008, two days after a Philadelphia Police Sergeant was shot and killed in the line of duty, approximately 14 Philadelphia Police Officers were videotaped by a Fox29 helicopter allegedly beating three people suspected of involvement in a drive-by shooting. Seven police officers were reassigned to desk duty pending an investigation.

Present-day Philadelphia Police Department

The current Philadelphia Police Department employs more than 6,600 officers, and patrols an area of 369.4 km² (142.6 mi²) with a population of almost 1.5 million. The department is subdivided into twenty-three patrol districts, and like many other large municipal police forces, it incorporates many special units such as a K-9 squad, SWAT, community relations unit, and harbor patrol. The highest-ranking officer, the Commissioner, is Charles H. Ramsey, a former Chicago police officer and former Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia.

Special aspects of the Philadelphia Police Department

The Philadelphia Police Department has several unique features which distinguish it from other municipal police agencies. One of these features is the department's Hero Scholarship Thrill Show, which is a 45-year-old program designed to provide funds for the college education of the children of PPD and Philadelphia Fire Department officers slain or disabled in the line of duty. Funds are raised through ticket sales for the Thrill Show, which features police and fire department demonstrations, exhibits, and games.
Another unique aspect of the Philadelphia Police is its use of a Strategic Intervention Tactical Enforcement (S.I.T.E) special unit. The Philadelphia SITE Unit serves one role within the department:to serve as a specialized anti-crime task force in high-crime areas of the city. The PPD's SITE unit serves as an elite group who work directly for the current Police Commissioner within the department, and has only a many other counterparts in other cities that do the same, most notably Boston's Special Operations Unit. The S.I.T.E. unit was disbanded to much the dismay of many politicians in February 2008. The new police Commissioner stated he'd bring it back in the end of the summer if there was no serious reduction in crime.

Ranks within the Department

(Highest to Lowest)

Police Commissioner (Appointed Position by City's Managing Director with Approval of Mayor)
First Deputy Police Commissioner (Appointed Position by City's Managing Director with Approval of Mayor)
Deputy Police Commissioner - Civil Service Rank
Chief Inspector - Civil Service Rank
Inspector - Civil Service Rank
Staff Inspector - Civil Service Rank
Captain - Civil Service Rank
Lieutenant - Civil Service Rank
Sergeant - Civil Service Rank
Detective - Civil Service Rank
Corporal - Civil Service Rank
Police Officer - Civil Service Rank
Police Officer Recruit - Civil Service Rank

The ranks of Corporal and Detective have the same pay grade, but have two entirely different functions. Corporal are "Operations Supervisors" and are responsible for overseeing a Patrol District's Operations Room, or a Special Unit's Operations; for example: that reports are submitted accurately and in a timely manner, etc. Only in a few rare instances do Corporals work the street, with the noted exception of S.I.T.E. Unit and SWAT tactical units.
Detectives come under the Detective Bureau, and are assigned primarely to Divisional Detective Units, and specialized units like Homicide, Organized Crime / Intelligence, and Background Investigation. There are also Police Officers who serve in an investigative capacity, such as in the Juvenile Aid and Special Victims Units. They are paid in the same pay scale as a Police Officer assigned to Patrol.
Unlike some departments, the Philadelphia's Detective Bureau doesn't have the ranks of Detective Sergeant, Detective Lieutenant, etc.

Highest Ranking Officials

Police Marshalls

John J. Keyser, 1850 - 1853

John K. Murphy, 1853 - 1855

Chiefs of Police

Samuel G. Ruggles, 1855 - 1867

St. Clair A. Mulhalland, 1867 - 1872

Kennard Jones, 1872 - 1879

Samuel L. Given, 1879 - 1884

James Stewart, 1884 - 1887

James Lamon, 1887 - 1892

Superintendents of Police

Robert Linden, 1892 - 1899

Harry M. Quick, 1899 - 1904

John B. Taylor, 1904 - 1912

James Robinson, 1912 - 1920

William B. Mills, 1920 - 1931

Joseph E. Lestrange, 1931 - 1936

James H. Malone, 1936 - 1937

Edward Hubbs, 1937 - 1940

Howard P. Sutton, 1950 - 1952

Police Commissioners

Thomas J. Gibbons, 1952 - 1960

Albert N. Brown, 1960-1962

Howard Leary, 1962 - 1965

Edward J. Bell, 1966 - 1967

Frank L. Rizzo, 1967 - 1971 (first Italian American commissioner, later Mayor of Philadelphia)

Joseph F.O'Neill, 1971 - 1980

Morton B. Solomon, 1980 - 1984

Gregore J. Sambor, 1984 - 1985

Kevin M. Tucker, 1985 - 1988

Willie L. Williams, 1988 - 1992 (first African American commissioner, later chief of the LAPD)

Richard Neal, 1992 - 1998

John Timoney, 1998 - 2002 (currently chief of City of Miami Police Department)

Sylvester Johnson, 2002 - 2008

Charles H. Ramsey 2008 - Present

Demographics

Male: 70%

Female: 30%

White: 55.6%

African-American/Black: 36.4%

Hispanic: 6.5%

Other: 1.5%

Wall of Honor

Philadelphia honors those men and women who have died while serving in the line of duty. The memorial plaque is located in the courtyard of Philadelphia City Hall. It resided on the southeast corner of where Broad and Market Street would meet if they continued through the building.
(NOTE: Prior to 1972, the Fairmount Park Police Department (FPPD) functioned as a separate unit within the City of Philadelphia. Members of the FPPD, who fell in the line of duty are included in the below list with the letters "FPPD" after their name)
Unless otherwise noted, the rank of those below is Police Officer.

Night Officer William Baker, December 26, 1851	Watchman Neil Mooney, May 25, 1856	Dennis Sullivan, June 14, 1870
Lewis Lare, Aug. 21, 1872	Daniel McGonigle, Oct. 9, 1872	Henry O'Donnell, July 4, 1876
George McGonigal, Feb. 18, 1877	George Jackson, May 23, 1887	William D. Johnston, Oct. 3, 1887
Elmer Findley, Dec. 29, 1891	John Chambers, Sep. 10, 1894	Charles O. Conaway, Nov. 10, 1900
Edward George, Dec. 27, 1902	John J. Donovan, Sep. 25, 1903	Matthew J. Curran, May 26, 1905
Thomas A. Sheldon, Jan. 6, 1906	Frank Slaymaker, June 6, 1906	Aug. F. Brusius, Feb. 23, 1907
Scott H. Shelley, Jan. 5, 1908	Thomas A. Gordon, Apr. 9, 1908	Edward Mooney, Dec. 19, 1908
Robert Simons, Feb. 17, 1909	James O'Brien, Feb. 4, 1910	William Weiss, May 8, 1910
George Barnett, Nov. 28, 1910	Morris Gelles, Dec. 22, 1910	Joseph Dolphin, Feb. 17, 1912
Thomas Dowling, June 26, 1912	David M. Simpson, Sep. 21, 1912	George Freeman, Sep. 24, 1912
John Mann, Aug. 4, 1913	Frank A. Sankey, Sep. 18, 1914	Detective James Maneely, Mar. 25, 1915
Detective Harry E. Tucker, Apr. 24, 1915	Vincent J. Moore, Aug. 11, 1916	John F. Smith, Oct. 28, 1916
Fredrick J. Weingard, July 23, 1917	Detective Frank J. McCartney, Aug. 30, 1917	George Eppley, Sep. 19, 1917
Detective George L. Williams, Jan. 9, 1918	Charles T. Dewees, Jan. 12, 1918	Thompson Black, Jan. 18, 1918
James Wilson, Jan. 21, 1918	Thomas J. McVay, July 28, 1918	John J. Knox, Jan. 27, 1919
George Dingwall, Jan. 27, 1919	Charles Danowitz, Mar. 9, 1919	Walter S. Gideon, Mar. 13, 1919
James J. Hess, Mar. 14, 1919	Joseph T. Swiercynski, Mar. 20, 1919	Abner Braun, May 27, 1919
Conrad E. Gibson, Oct. 4, 1919	Charles B. Jones, Oct. 5, 1919	John E. Price, Apr. 19, 1920
Walter H. Hodges, May 11, 1920	William J. Boyd Jr., May 12, 1920	Dominic E. Nesavage, Sep. 12, 1920
Detective Joseph P. McGinn, Oct. 3, 1920	John J. McAntee, Oct. 22, 1920	Edward W. Kunz, Oct. 28, 1920
Edward W. Holtry, Jan. 17, 1921	William J. Davis, Jan. 29, 1921	Edward S. Boynton, Oct. 4, 1921
Edward W. Kelly, Nov. 16, 1921	Guard Vincent A. Hanley, FPPD, Nov. 26, 1921	Harry J. Stauffer, Mar. 16, 1922
Thomas Brady, Apr. 24, 1922	James A. Lambert, July 16, 1922	John J. Toomey, Aug. 26, 1922
Bartholomew J. Coen, Oct. 6, 1922	Thomas F. Gallagher, Nov. 3, 1922	William Miles, Feb. 21, 1923
Thomas Wilkinson, Apr. 19, 1923	Harry R. Reinhart, Mar. 23, 1924	Detective Truman Swain, July 5, 1924
Thomas J. Nihill, Sep. 21, 1924	Robert Wise, Nov. 30, 1924	Harry C. Lomas, Mar. 26, 1925
John F. Creevy, June 9, 1925	Albert Steward, Oct. 24, 1925	Frank P. Cook, Dec. 16, 1925
Harry Manley Cooper, May 4, 1926	Joseph Edward Bell, Dec. 23, 1926	Charles F. Gay, Jan. 7, 1927
William Slook, Jan. 14, 1927	Robert A. McGarvey, Feb. 24, 1927	John J. Watson, Apr. 18, 1927
Edward C. Plenskofski, Aug. 8, 1927	Gottlob Klemmer, Sep. 11, 1927	Watchman Steven Heimer, Jan. 8, 1928
Charles A. Fry, Feb. 21, 1928	Detective Joseph Etriss, Mar. 25, 1928	Harry Feinberg, Mar. 30, 1928
Charles J. Sheer, Dec. 10, 1928	Inspector John W. Blackburn, Jan. 17, 1929	James M. Justice, Mar. 1, 1929
Michael Donnelly, Apr. 12, 1929	William T. Page, Apr. 21, 1929	Phillip A. Bruce, Nov. 9, 1929
Asst. Superintendent James J. Hearn, Nov. 27, 1930	John C. Keen, Feb. 27, 1931	Elmer E. Patterson, June 6, 1931
Captain Harry B. Price, June 20, 1931	Raymond Carey, July 13, 1931	Detective Edward J. Gahan, Aug. 15, 1931
Joseph V. Campbell Jr., Oct. 23, 1931	Thomas J. Fitzgerald, Nov. 7, 1931	Albert J. Stokes, Feb. 3, 1932
Sergeant Walter Steinbaker, Feb. 21, 1932	William J. Henderson, Mar. 3, 1932	David H. Wiley, Apr. 10, 1932
Nolan Eugene Tipton, June 25, 1932	Joseph C. Meiers, July 7, 1932	Isadore Reinheimer, Aug. 2, 1932
Detective Michael G. Croskey, Dec. 7, 1932	Fred J. Dolan, Jan. 26, 1933	Detective Louis Moore, June 16, 1933
Charles H. Stockberger, July 14, 1933	Harry Donahue, Feb. 19, 1934	Matthew Clowry, Mar. 31, 1934
Alphonso Bonavitacola, July 28, 1934	William C. Wilson, Sep. 3, 1934	Paul Hathaway, Oct. 4, 1934
Edwin W. Welsh, Nov. 10, 1934	William Bunker Hinchliffe, Apr. 24, 1935	William H. McCloskey, May 5, 1935
Thomas J. McErlane, July 4, 1935	James T. Morrow, Nov. 23, 1936	Guard Michael McKenna, FPPD, May 17, 1937
Guard Martin Clasby, FPPD, Dec. 31, 1937	Henry Berry, Mar. 30, 1938	Edward Bradley, Feb. 2, 1941
James J. Clarke, Feb. 11, 1941	Captain Hugh F. McCann, June 13, 1941	William J. Henderson, Dec. 25, 1941
Thomas J. Wixted, Mar. 15, 1942	Karl F. Kohler, Aug. 12, 1943	Eugene J. Chavis, May 20, 1944
Guard William A. Doyle, FPPD, Jan. 8, 1945	John F. Schaefer, Mar. 31, 1945	Charles W. Brown, Nov. 27, 1946
Henry Hicks, Dec. 24, 1946	Cecil Ingling, Jan. 30, 1947	James J. Quigley, Apr. 3, 1947
Guard Thomas A. Ryan, FPPD, Apr. 8, 1947	Sergeant Samuel Hewitt, Apr. 23, 1947	Wallace B. Chapman, June 13, 1948
Sergeant Michael J. Hunt, Aug. 4, 1948	Norman Stinger, Jan. 25, 1949	Vincent P. Foley, Mar. 20, 1949
George Mitchell, Dec. 31, 1949	James J. Donahue, May 14, 1950	Sanford S. Smith, July 15, 1950
Louis Toriello, Oct. 6, 1950	John Stanley Gordon, Feb. 28, 1951	James J. Auter, Oct. 15, 1953
Joseph J. DiDomenico, Oct. 30, 1953	Albert Savich, Dec. 13, 1953	John S. Colonna, Dec. 24, 1953
Aux. P.O. William James Henhoeffer, Dec. 25, 1955	Edward Flynn, Aug. 15, 1956	Daniel Meehan, Jan. 11, 1957
Stella Donahue, Jan. 11, 1957	Robert T. Roberts, Nov. 28, 1957	James F. Kane, June 5, 1959
Joseph A. Reiss, Aug. 8, 1959	Joseph Franceschino, Oct. 26, 1959	William Duross, Apr. 15, 1960
Joseph McLaughlin, Oct. 14, 1960	William Powell, Nov. 19, 1960	James F. Christie, Nov. 27, 1961
Lieutenant Daniel J. McCann, July 30, 1964	Guard Joseph Sankey, FPPD, Sep. 9, 1964	Raymond Lovett, Dec. 7, 1965
George Jacobs, July 15, 1966	Richard Rehmann, July 28, 1966	Robert D. White, Sep. 2, 1966
Ernest Schwoeble, Nov. 13, 1967	Ross Brackett, July 15, 1968	William Lackman, Oct. 17, 1968
David Ellerbee, Nov. 1, 1968	Charles R. Reynolds, Oct. 26, 1969	Frederick Cione, Jan. 30, 1970
Harry Lee Davis, Apr. 6, 1970	Sergeant Frank R. Von Colln, FPPD, Aug. 29, 1970	John M. McEntee Jr., Feb. 20, 1971
Joseph V. Kelly, Feb. 21, 1971	Detective Douglas J. Alexander, Feb. 9, 1972	Raymond Fredericksdorf, Feb. 19, 1972
Dominic Guglielmi, Mar. 31, 1972	Leo Paul Van Winkle, June 27, 1972	James F. Duffin, Jan. 14, 1973
Louis J. Vasger, Apr. 13, 1973	David F. Sampson, Dec. 12, 1973	Sergeant Michael S. Lingham, Apr. 14, 1974
Sergeant William J. Kelleher, May 15, 1974	James A. McKale Jr., Sep. 15, 1974	Allan H. Lewin, Apr. 10, 1975
Ronald Trumbette, May 23, 1975	Artimus Johnson, Oct. 20, 1975	Corporal William L. Daniels, Dec. 16, 1975
John S. Trettin, Feb. 29, 1976	James E. Griffin, Mar. 5, 1976	Lieutenant Walter Szwajkowski, June 27, 1976
Francis W. Magro, Mar. 30, 1977	James J. Ramp, Aug. 8, 1978	Artis Norris, July 11, 1979
Sergeant Wilfred Doyle, Dec. 21, 1979	William Washington, Jan. 16, 1980	Robert S. Smith, Apr. 23, 1980
Ernest W. Davis, July 16, 1980	Garrett T. (Gary) Farrell, Sep. 26, 1980	James N. Mason, May 10, 1981
Daniel J. Faulkner, Dec. 9, 1981	Richard Lendell, Jan. 14, 1983	Sandra Griffin, Feb. 13, 1983
Stephen E. Sawka, June 18, 1983	John Francis Duffy, Dec. 10, 1983	Sergeant John H. McGill, Dec. 17, 1983
William G. McCracken, Feb. 5, 1984	James A. Rementer, May 21, 1985	Thomas Joseph Trench, May 28, 1985
Charles Patrick O'Hanlon, Nov. 13, 1985	Sergeant Ralph M. Galdi, Mar. 31, 1986	Daniel T. Gleason, June 5, 1986
William D. McCarthy, Sep. 22, 1987	Albert A. Valentino, Oct. 23, 1989	Winfred S. Hunter, June 4, 1990
Joaquin Montijo, June 15, 1990	Freddie Dukes, Dec. 25, 1990	Daniel R. Boyle, Feb. 6, 1991
Charles Thomas Knox, Aug. 30, 1992	Robert Hayes, June 17, 1993	Stephen Dmytryk, Nov. 16, 1993
Joseph Friel, Dec. 4, 1994	Kevin Williams, July 31, 1995	Lauretha Vaird, Jan. 2, 1996
Robert Porter, Jan. 19, 1996	Pauline Harness, June 18, 1996	Detective John Cousin, Aug. 15, 1996
Leddie James Brown, Dec. 11, 1997	Jose M. Ortiz, Sep. 21, 2000	Thomas M. Bray, Nov. 13, 2001
Detective Anthony Johnson, Jan. 7, 2003	Paris Williams Sr., June 21, 2005	Gary Skerski, May 8, 2006
Walter T. Barclay Jr.,Aug. 19, 2007	Charles Cassidy, November 1, 2007	Sergeant Steven Liczbinski, May 3, 2008

Popular culture

The Philadelphia Police Department is featured in the 1978 zombie film Dawn of the Dead in which the PPD S.W.A.T. team clears out a tenement building which was harboring the undead.

The 1983 comedy Trading Places, Dan Aykroyd's character is detained and questioned by members of the PPD.

The 1985 thriller Witness features Harrison Ford's character as a detective in the PPD who is hunted by corrupt members of the department.

The PPD's Recruit Training Academy was featured in an episode of Da Ali G Show in which Ali G participates in several police training exercises.

The police/drama series Cold Case involves detectives of the PPD.

The 1990 action/comedy Downtown

featuring Anthony Edwards and Forest Whitaker. Police officer Alex Kearney works in a rich plush Philadelphia suburb.

The PPD is shown assisting members of the Baltimore Police Department on a 2002 episode of The Wire during the extradition and arrest of criminal Wee-Bey Brice.

The PPD is featured in the series Presidential Agent written by W.E.B. Griffin.

The PPD is featured in the series Badge of Honor written by W.E.B. Griffin.

The PPD is also featured in the 2007 film Shooter, starring Mark Wahlberg.Further Information

Get more info on 'Philadelphia Police Department'.

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