Cops Provided 24/7 Private Security For City Council Members

By Ralph Cipriano
for BigTrial.net

Fourteen of seventeen City Council members just came out against the mayor's plan to increase the police budget by $14 million.

But most City Council members apparently had no problem with accepting a big increase in private police services for themselves. We're talking about the cops providing 24/7 security details for just about every City Council member during the recent riots and protests that have left Center City and other parts of town boarded up and charred by arson fires.

"They [City Council members] all felt threatened by the rioting and looting," one cop explained.

For the past 11 days, each of 16 city council members -- with the lone exception of Councilman Alan Domb -- have had three city detectives working 8 hour shifts every 24 hours to provide them with private security. Since May 30th, some 48 plainclothes detectives were paid to sit in unmarked police cars outside the homes of City Council members. That's instead of going out to investigate crimes, or obtain search warrants and arrest warrants. The estimated cost of the City Council security detail: about $178,000 without including the costs of overtime.

In addition to providing private security details for 16 City Council members, the city police over the past 11 days have also been providing private 24/7 security details for other top city officials that include Deputy Mayor Rich Lazer, Deputy Mayor James Engler, Managing Director Brian Abernathy, Health Commissioner Thomas Farley, Streets Commissioner Carlton Williams, as well as Letitia Santarelli, who is Mayor Kenney's fiancee, at an extra cost of at least another $66,000.

Typically, the city only provides security details for top officials such as the mayor. Mayor Kenney has a 24/7 security detail provided by a lieutenant, a sergeant and 10 police officers who chauffeur Hizzoner around in several brand new Chevrolet Tahoes.

District Attorney Larry Krasner also has a private security detail staffed by three officers, who drive Krasner around in vehicles that include a Ford Expedition.

But during the rioting and rooting, apparently just about every top city official felt entitled to private protection from the cops. And the city plans to drop the whole bill on the feds.

The bill for the private security is being listed as part of protest details so it will be paid for by the federal government. It's being listed in the Daily Attendance Records System under the guise of "Justice4Floyd," which is the code administrators are using for police response to the protests.

"They think Donald Trump is going to reimburse the city because they declared an emergency," one cop cracked. "What a fucking joke."

Especially when you consider that every chance he gets, Mayor Jim "Sanctuary City" Kenney does nothing but trash Trump.

Another problem for the city is that before cops are assigned to provide protection for dignitaries, they're supposed to complete a training course, typically with the Secret Service, of at least 30 hours. But since 16 city council members wanted private protection, along with other city officials, many detectives were sent out on those assignments without any training.

"Anything to keep it under the radar," one cop said.

Councilman Kenyatta Johnson, who's currently under federal indictment for allegedly taking bribes, wrote the letter to the mayor signed by 14 other council members that stated it would be "counterproductive" to increase police spending at a time when funding for other programs such as pubic health, libraries, recreation centers and the arts were being cut. The letter also called for "significant" reforms of the police department.

Johnson, who for the past 11 days had a security detail stationed outside his home on the 2000 block of Ellsworth Street, did not respond to a request for comment.

Neither did Councilwoman Helen Gym, who signed Johnson's letter opposing an increase in police funding. She also had a private security detail outside her home the past eleven days on the 2100 block of Appletree Street.

Brian Dries, a spokesman for city Councilman Alan Domb, said that the councilman, unlike the rest of his colleagues, declined to accept any extra security from the Police Department.

"When he was contacted by a member of the Police Department, he denied the service and requested they use the resources where they felt it was most needed," Dries wrote in an email.

Meanwhile, amidst the cries of radical activists -- and some Philadelphia City Council members -- to defund the police, is the mayor still holding firm on his proposal to increase spending for the police budget?

Nope. He caved.

Mayor Kenney told the Inquirer that in response to the council's letter, he would cut a total of $19 million from the Police Department's proposed $760 million budget. The mayor explained his flip-flop by saying he was listening to the protesters, and had come up with his own proposals to reform the police department.

"This moment is a beginning," Kenney told the Inquirer.

Meanwhile, regarding the security details, some cops reported that detectives were being pulled off of those details beginning at 7 a.m. this morning. Later in the day, however, other cops said that by popular demand the details were still in action.

Spokespersons for the city and Mayor Kenney, who were hiding under their desks last night, did not respond to requests for comment.

Apparently, this was a secret that the Kenney administration did not want out there. And if they only had their progressive friends at The Philadelphia Inquirer to worry about, they would have gotten away with it.

"Some city officials have received additional personal protection," Inspector Sekou Kinebrew wrote in an email that confirmed the security details. "This was being done out of an abundance of caution. Because this is a security matter, we are unable at this time to provide more specifics."

But late tonight, police sources said that within two hours after the posting of this story, all security details had been canceled, without explanation.

How about this for an explanation: when hypocrisy gets exposed, the rats scurry for cover.