Entire Philly P.D. Tied Up With Tomorrow's Visit From President Trump; Except P.C. Outlaw, Who's Hanging With Indicted Councilman

By Ralph Cipriano

for BigTrial.net

When President Trump comes to town tomorrow, all kinds of protests are expected. So in anticipation of chaos in the streets, all days off for all Philly cops have been canceled, and every cop tomorrow, whether they're working days or nights, will be pulling a 12-hour shift.

One top cop, however, won't be hanging with the president, or the cops who'll be guarding the president.

That would be Danielle Outlaw, the police commissioner of Philadelphia. Instead of attending Trump's Town Hall forum at the Constitution Center, which begins at 5 p.m., Outlaw is scheduled to hang with a local guy who's currently under federal indictment for alleged political corruption.

That would be City Councilman Kenyatta Johnson, who, in spite of his indictment, is holding a Town Hall meeting on Gun Violence at 7 p.m. tomorrow night, an event to be broadcast live by WDAS FM and Power 99 FM. 

The members of the "distinguished panel" that plans to discuss "what needs to be done to end the gun violence plaguing Philadelphia" include Outlaw and District Attorney Larry Krasner. That's the same Larry Krasner who, according to the U.S. Attorney in Philadelphia, as well as Big Trial, is the one public official most responsible for the escalating gun violence on the streets.

John McNesby, president of the local FOP, took a dim view of Councilman Johnson's latest town hall meeting, which typically feature much official handwringing and empty speeches from politicians like Krasner. 

"Enough with the town halls, enough with the needless special council hearings, it's time to focus on backing the police, and removing or addressing the real problem and that is the District Attorney," McNesby wrote in an email. 

U.S. Attorney William McSwain feels the same way. He used a press conference this morning to blast the D.A., by saying his Krasner's permissive policies were directly responsible for "the carnage on the streets."

"Armed murderers cannot be permitted to walk the streets of Philadelphia in the name of criminal justice reform," McSwain told reporters. "The staggering homicide and shooting rates in Philadelphia are proof that the District Attorney’s radical experiment has failed."

"Homicides, shootings, and serious violent crime have all skyrocketed in 2020 – from already intolerable levels that existed in 2019 and 2018," McSwain said. "There have been 316 homicides since the beginning of the year – a 32% increase as compared to this time last year. The violence has been pervasive and it is destroying the soul of the city."

"In the last month alone, 48 people have been killed and hundreds have been shot. And the average age of the shooting victims is getting younger," McSwain said. "Tragically, the vast majority of the victims are racial minorities. I can’t say it any clearer: the District Attorney’s policies come at the expense of minority communities."

"We can draw a straight line from these policies to the carnage on the streets," McSwain said. "My office has examined the circumstances underlying many of the recent murder cases in the city and the inescapable conclusion is that a great number of these murders were made possible by the District Attorney’s Office’s willingness – indeed, its eagerness – to offer sweetheart plea deals to violent defendants. Deals that allowed those defendants to quickly get back out on the street and kill."

Meanwhile, cops were stewing over Outlaw's plans to ditch the president, and hang with Councilman Johnson. A veteran police commander who requested anonymity derided Outlaw as "Jim Kenney's puppet," and "the little girl who dresses up in a police uniform and hides in her office all day."

"She is choosing to spend her day with one of the most corrupt politicians in Philadelphia [Kenyatta Johnson], who is currently under federal indictment, instead of leading her department in ensuring the safety of the duly-elected President of the United States of America," the veteran commander said.

"If a white Police Commissioner would have done that to President Obama, he/she would have been accused of being racist."

Another cop who'll be on the front lines tomorrow said he knows why Outlaw won't be at the Constitution Center, with the president, her cops, and all those protesters.

"So when the shit hits the fan, she won't get any blame," the cop said. 

But by the end of the day, smoke signals from police headquarters seemed to indicate that Outlaw had changed her mind about attending Kenyatta Johnson's town hall meeting.

Officer Tanya Little, a spokesperson for the Philadelphia Police Department, explained that the town hall meeting "was scheduled prior to us knowing that President Trump was going to be in town. Commissioner Outlaw will be with the command staff to handle tomorrow's events related to the President Trump visit."

"I just want to make sure it's understood that the PC will not be taking part in the Town Hall," Officer Little wrote in an email. 

When asked if Outlaw was backing out of Councilman Johnson's town hall meeting, Officer Little wrote, "I wouldn't say 'backing out.' However, the town hall was scheduled (and rescheduled) before we knew the president was coming. The department is now unable to provide the PC or other members of the executive team for the town hall because of the president's visit."