Time to retire - PhillyBlog

TheMidwest · #1 (**permalink**) 10-31-2007, 03:09 PM

I try to avoid posting on Phillyblog while I’m at work, but this is just too much.

An officer was shot this morning, when he walked in on a robbery-in-progress at a North Philadephia Dunkin Donuts. This is an awful tragedy, especially because another officer was shot last night. Here is what our police commissioner had to say about the matter:

Quote:

Asked about the recent spate of shootings of officers, Johnson said, "Somebody's got to realize we've got a gun problem in this city."

Thanks, Sylvester. One of the first people who should realize that “we’ve got a gun problem” – and DO something about it - is the police commissioner. And yet, the buck is passed.

You can read the full story at the Inquirer website, including our mayor’s appalling attempt to blame Phila’s crime on the federal government.

November 6th cannot come soon enough.

lutton · #2 (**permalink**) 10-31-2007, 03:44 PM

Johnson has lost the city...He is done…his goose is cooked, and his legacy as police commisioner will be one of surging murder rates, increased crime, and an apathetic attitude from the police department.

Taking pot-shots at the Mayor-elect and passing the buck on surging violence which has gotten three cops shot in four days is pathetic and shiftless...

Don't go away mad, just go away...

MayfairMeat · #3 (**permalink**) 10-31-2007, 03:53 PM

The best of all this is that Sylvester's grandson is a thug-wannabe-rap-artist.

Quote:

Some of S-Five's older rap lyrics, delivered at machine-gun speed, are shocking, considering his top-cop connection. He raps about "breaking every damn law in the book," smoking gobs of marijuana and pumping bullets into people while screaming out "f--- the law."

Ironic, no?

Better still, S-FIVE, as he calls himself now... used to be a Seargant-At-Arms of City Council (patronage job earned through the virtue of nepotism), which he quit.

He's now homeless.

Now, you can't fault the top cop for having a grandkid who turned out this way--but at the same time it's somewhat hard to ignore it, too:

http://www.philly.com/philly/hp/news...Y_LYRICAL.html

Quote:

Originally Posted by lutton

Johnson has lost the city...He is done…his goose is cooked, and his legacy as police commisioner will be one of surging murder rates, increased crime, and an apathetic attitude from the police department.

Taking pot-shots at the Mayor-elect and passing the buck on surging violence which has gotten three cops shot in four days is pathetic and shiftless...

Don't go away mad, just go away...

romano · #4 (**permalink**) 10-31-2007, 04:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheMidwest

I try to avoid posting on Phillyblog while I’m at work, but this is just too much.

An officer was shot this morning, when he walked in on a robbery-in-progress at a North Philadephia Dunkin Donuts. This is an awful tragedy, especially because another officer was shot last night. Here is what our police commissioner had to say about the matter:

Thanks, Sylvester. One of the first people who should realize that “we’ve got a gun problem” – and DO something about it - is the police commissioner. And yet, the buck is passed.

You can read the full story at the Inquirer website, including our mayor’s appalling attempt to blame Phila’s crime on the federal government.

November 6th cannot come soon enough.

I agree 100%, take some f-ing responsibility for once. Yes, there are hurdles outside of your control, but at least try to do something proactive instead of throwing your hands up and saying there's nothing you can do. What a tool.

random · #5 (**permalink**) 10-31-2007, 05:08 PM

Sylvester says we have a gun problem.

Maybe somebody will clue him that what we really have is a crime problem and it's now at the point where even the police are being gunned down at will.

Of course I hope the officers involved recover fully.

I also hope they sue Johnson and Street for the carnage the two of them allow to continue while blaming everyone and everything but themselves.

niel · #6 (**permalink**) 11-01-2007, 09:06 PM

I think both Johnson and Street lost the city a long time ago. For at least the last year or two there's been a vacuum at the top - no sense of authority from the city's civilian and policy leadership - and as a result a feeling of invincibility has trickled down to the street level. It's like a political version of the broken windows theory. When nobody's home in the mayor's office, and no-one's watching the store in the Philly PD, this is what you get.

Fergie · #7 (**permalink**) 11-01-2007, 09:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheMidwest

I try to avoid posting on Phillyblog while I’m at work, but this is just too much.

An officer was shot this morning, when he walked in on a robbery-in-progress at a North Philadephia Dunkin Donuts. This is an awful tragedy, especially because another officer was shot last night. Here is what our police commissioner had to say about the matter:

Thanks, Sylvester. One of the first people who should realize that “we’ve got a gun problem” – and DO something about it - is the police commissioner. And yet, the buck is passed.

You can read the full story at the Inquirer website, including our mayor’s appalling attempt to blame Phila’s crime on the federal government.

November 6th cannot come soon enough.

to be fair, both Street and Johnson, and even Michael Bloomburg have asked to have the guns laws changed in areas with high gun crime and the state and federal governments won't budge on making a difference.

random · #8 (**permalink**) 11-01-2007, 09:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fergie

to be fair, both Street and Johnson, and even Michael Bloomburg have asked to have the guns laws changed in areas with high gun crime and the state and federal governments won't budge on making a difference.

Think about what difference it's made in cities such as DC, LA, Baltimore, the entire state of California, New Jersey, . . . . I'd rather be in philly than LA.

The mayoral gun control mantra is an excuse and a diversionary tactic.

There's now evidence to show that harsh gun laws applied to law abiding citizens actually result in increased crime. That's one reason why the majority of states have relaxed gun laws and restrictions on concealed carry permits.

While many want to believe that gun control is some magic wand that will keep guns out of the hands of criminals, it doesn't work. The illegal guns will continue to flow in from overseas just like illegal drugs, but everyone who obeys the law will be defenseless.

TheMidwest · #9 (**permalink**) 11-01-2007, 11:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by niel

I think both Johnson and Street lost the city a long time ago. For at least the last year or two there's been a vacuum at the top - no sense of authority from the city's civilian and policy leadership - and as a result a feeling of invincibility has trickled down to the street level. It's like a political version of the broken windows theory. When nobody's home in the mayor's office, and no-one's watching the store in the Philly PD, this is what you get.

This is a good point - part of the reason that criminals feel comfortable "checking out" of the social contract, as it were, is that there's a perception that no penalty will occur.

I've wondered if the reverse will occur when Nutter takes office in January. Right now, Nutter hasn't done anything yet - but he's talked tough, and people in the city associate Nutter with "tough on crime." The perception is there, and I think there's a lot of expectation as to what will happen when Street leaves, and Nutter enters. Heck, the words "stop and frisk" alone - although taken wildly out of context in various debates - give the impression of a city government that is serious about authority and accountability.

If Nutter's first few months in office are as successful as I believe they can be, the combination of perception and action could work toward restoring the respect for (and fear of) authority that the criminal elements in this city are lacking.

MayfairMeat · #10 (**permalink**) 11-02-2007, 12:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by romano

I agree 100%, take some f-ing responsibility for once. Yes, there are hurdles outside of your control, but at least try to do something proactive instead of throwing your hands up and saying there's nothing you can do. What a tool.

I have sent a rather damning letter to the Daily News concerning our ineffective police commissioner.

I wish he would just give up right now and retire. Don't wait. Quit now. Hang up the hat and let his post be temporarily filled while the City determines a replacement.