Philadelphia police commissioner Charles
Ramsey, who
we learned last week is paid a whopping $261,375, apparently
more than the city charter allows and possibly as a result of
prohibited double-dipping, held a press conference yesterday to
make sure Philadelphia residents knew he was concerned about a
police pat-down earlier this month that reportedly led to a
straight-A high school student suffering a ruptured testicle. But,
says Ramsey, he doesn’t know what happened because the student and
his family haven’t filed a formal complaint.
Via CBS Philly:
“We want to know what happened,” Ramsey said
today. “This is a young man with no history in terms of
negative contact with the law. My understanding is he is a
good student. I don’t know what took place, and I’m not in a
position to say at this point in time because I don’t have all the
facts.”Ramsey showed reporters video of the incident from a police
camera. But the coverage is intermittent because the camera
had been set to automatically pan back and forth across the
intersection every ten seconds.From what was shown, it looked like a routine patdown and struggle
between a pair of officers and a young man.
According to a report from
Philly.com the incident began when a police officer approached
the student, Darrin Manning, and his classmates. The officer claims
the students were covering their faces with ski masks and running.
The students deny wearing ski masks, but were given scarves by one
of their teachers. Manning admits one of his classmates might have
said something smart to the police officer once he saw them. He is
now charged with multiple misdemeanor counts, including one for
resisting arrest. Police have tried to talk to Manning and his
mother, who have both talked to the media, about the incident, but
their lawyer has advised them not to speak unless charges are
dropped.
Last year,
Ramsey invited the Department of Justice to review his
department’s use of deadly force. That report is still
forthcoming.
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