Tag: philadelphia

‘City Of Brotherly Love’: Check Out Philadelphia PD’s New Guide For Surviving A Carjacking

As the City of Brotherly Love endures a historic crime wave, the Philadelphia Police Department published a new guide to help residents survive a carjacking.

In a Facebook post on Wednesday, Commissioner Danielle Outlaw reported that there were 757 reported carjackings in Philadelphia last year — an increase of 34% over 2020. From those incidents, police arrested 150 individuals and cleared 93 investigations.

Outlaw also explained that the department is devoting assets to solve the problem:

Plainly put, the PPD has deployed additional resources to investigate these incidents and apprehend offenders. This includes plain-clothed officers deployed to targeted areas and an operational Task Force dedicated to combating carjackings within the city.

In addition, every PPD detective division, as well as our Major Crimes Unit, which investigates crime rings and trends, has assigned detectives to investigate patterns, hotspots, and develop intelligence pertaining to carjackings. Our intelligence bureau is also gathering information from multiple sources, participating in mutual exchanges of information with our law enforcement partners, and identifying locations, trends, and patterns associated with carjackings in the city. Along with our efforts, the Attorney General’s Office is aiding in investigating carjackings in Philadelphia while providing additional investigative technology to our Department.

In the meantime, Outlaw provided Philadelphians with a guide to surviving a carjacking.

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Two Dems who support police reform carjacked less than 24 hours apart

Two Democrats who supported police reform in Philadelphia and Chicago were both carjacked at gunpoint within 24 hours of each other.

Illinois state Sen. Kimberly Lightford (D-Maywood) was targeted in suburban Chicago on Tuesday night, while Congresswoman Mary Gay Scanlon (D-Pa.) was carjacked Wednesday afternoon after an event in South Philadelphia.

Lightford was driving with her husband, Eric McKennie, in Broadview at about 9:45 p.m. when three masked suspects in a Durango SUV hijacked the couple’s black Mercedes.

Police said “multiple gunshots” were fired during the incident but Lightford and her husband weren’t physically hurt.

The suspects fled in the Mercedes and Durango, according to police.

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Philadelphia health commissioner resigns after cremating MOVE bombing remains

Philadelphia’s health commissioner has resigned after admitting he improperly cremated the remains of victims of a 1985 bombing, Mayor Jim Kenney announced Thursday.

Kenney said he was “disturbed” when he learned that the commissioner, Dr. Thomas Farley, “made a decision to cremate and dispose of” the remains from the bombing ordered by Philadelphia officials 36 years ago of a home whose inhabitants belonged to a revolutionary group called MOVE.

The bombing killed 11 people, including five children, and sparked a fire that spread and destroyed dozens of homes in the Cobbs Creek neighborhood.

Kenney said in a news conference Thursday that an investigation was underway to find out more about what happened to the remains, adding that they had been described as “bone fragments” and were thought to have been cremated in 2017.

“This action lacked empathy for the victims and their families,” Kenney said, adding that he asked Farley to resign effective immediately. Another official was placed on leave, and Dr. Cheryl Bettigole will serve as acting health commissioner, Kenney said.

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Philly Schools Just Put George Floyd ‘Murder’ & “Pyramid Of Hate” Into Kindergarten Curriculum.

Philadelphia Public Schools are implementing discussion about George Floyd’s “murder” and theories that America is built on a “pyramid of hate” into Kindergarten through second-grade curricula. 

Leaked documents from the city’s Office of School Climate and Culture obtained by Manhattan Institute Senior Fellow Christopher Rufo also allege American culture culminates in “genocide.”

A mock lesson plan for students in Kindergarten through second grade reveals teachers are required to address the death of George Floyd in the classroom. “Talk with others about what happened to George Floyd and the goals of the Black Lives Matter Movement,” the document suggests before also encouraging teachers to push their students to “write a letter […] about racial disparities in the criminal justice system” and “get involved in local activism.”

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Philadelphia mayor seen dining indoors while city’s restaurants can only serve outside

Philadelphia’s mayor is facing criticism after a photo has emerged of him dining indoors in Maryland while his city’s restaurants are only permitted to serve customers outside.

The image of Jim Kenney – posted on Instagram by restaurateur Marc Vetri – was taken Sunday in the Chesapeake Bay region of Maryland, his office told the Philadelphia Inquirer.

“Glad you’re enjoying indoor dining with no social distancing or mask wearing in Maryland tonight while restaurants here in Philly close, suffer and fight for every nickel just to survive,” Vetri wrote next to the photo. “I guess all your press briefings and your narrative of unsafe indoor dining don’t apply to you. Thank you for clearing it all up for us tonight.”

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