Seven Dirty Philly Cops Could Cost City Millions, Six Suspended But Not Yet Fired

For his faults, Philadelphia’s
police commissioner, Charles Ramsey, has not avoided trying to
firing and trying to fire problem cops. The problem is even though
he’s nominally in charge of the Philadelphia Police Department he
doesn’t have final say on employment decisions. Thus last week
Ramsey lamented that he could not rid his force of
Thomas Tolstoy, an alleged sexual predator, because neither a
federal nor local investigation produced a prosecution.  “The
odds are,” said Ramsey, “I’m stuck with a guy who shouldn’t be a
cop.” The statute of limitations on the allegations against Tolstoy
expire later this year and he’s likely to return to the streets of
Philly as a cop—he’s been drawing a paycheck without interruption
despite three separate women accusing him of similar sexual
assaults, including at least one who ended up in a hospital. Last
summer a cop Ramsey fired after he was caught on tape punching a
woman for no reason
got his job back thanks to an arbitration hearing.
Nevertheless, since 2008 Philadelphia
has fired 146 police officers, 88 of whom were arrested, and 48
who have been convicted so far, on charges like murder, rape, and
extortion.

Then there’s the group of Philadelphia cops from a now defunct
anti-narcotics group. Their misconduct has already forced the
district attorney to
throw away hundreds of drug-related cases because of tainted
testimony. And they could cost city taxpayers millions due to
lawsuits.
Philly.com reports:

Seven Philadelphia police narcotics officers at the center of a
federal corruption probe are also named in scores of civil lawsuits
that add more claims of thievery, intimidation and brutality to
those described in their criminal indictments, according to court
records.

The potential financial impact of these suits, along with any
others that may be filed, could expose the City of Philadelphia to
millions of dollars in damages or settlements.

The Philadelphia Police Department’s inability to respond
effectively to misconduct, in large part due to the strength of the

Fraternal Order of Police, has now exposed it to potentially
millions of dollars in liability for the actions of officers whose
jobs were treated as rights. Only one of the seven officers is no
longer with the department—he plead guilty to charges of corruption
and turned state’s evidence. The other six were “suspended
with intent to dismiss.” Ramsey can’t just fire an officer,
even if that officer his colleagues are under federal investigation
for serious crimes. It’s a similar situation for Tolstoy. If the
alleged sexual predator acts again and victimizes another woman,
can the city claim it’s not liable? It won’t be as easy for them to
get out of as it is for unions, which are rarely held liable for
actions that keep problem cops on the street.

The idea that “due process” should apply to the employment
status of government agents authorized to use violence against us
is horrific.