Mayor Kenney's Million-Dollar Security Detail Protects Him From Angry Protesters At Pig Roast

By Ralph Cipriano

for BigTrial.net

Whenever he hears about Philadelphians who live in fear of  flying bullets, Mayor Jim Kenney always assures us that he feels their pain.

“We know residents are afraid, afraid to attend cookouts or go to basketball courts, afraid to let their kids play outside," the empathetic mayor said last week as the city surpassed Chicago for having the highest per-capita murder rate in the nation.

But although the dead and wounded bodies here in Philadelphia are piling up in record numbers, it's comforting to know we have a mayor who cares. 

"I heard it on my corridor tours, I hear it at community meetings, I read your emails. I hear you and it truly breaks my heart," Kenney said about the fear residents have expressed regarding out-of-control gun violence.

But when it comes to his personal safety, the mayor doesn't have much to worry about, or for that matter, the personal safety of his fiancee. That's because Kenney and his gal pal are guarded 24/7 by a security detail of at least eight armed Philadelphia police officers. They drive four unmarked black SUVs often parked around City Hall behind green saw horses marked with the initials MPD, for Mayor's Police Detail. 

It's a security detail that according to a couple of knowledgable sources, costs taxpayers more than $1 million a year. In Democratic-controlled cities across the country such as Chicago, Baltimore, and San Francisco, they may be screaming about defunding the police. But taxpayers trapped in these urban utopias are simultaneously shelling out millions to fund private security details to protect progressive mayors like Kenney. 

Last night, the mayor's security detail was on the job at three different locations. The city even had to call in reinforcements because of an unruly protest outside the mayor's home last night that injured two cops. 

On Tuesday, a 24/7 security detail was parked on the 3100 block of 13th Street in South Philly, outside the home of Letitia "Letty" Santarelli, whom the mayor's been officially engaged to since December, 2019.

The security detail at Letty's usually involves two cops occupying an unmarked black police SUV outfitted with lights and sirens. 

A marked police car from a local police district often shares the around-the-clock duty of guarding Letty's house, where the mayor sometimes stays. 

Meanwhile, at 301 Race Street in Center City, there's another 24/7 private security detail posted outside a condo where Kenney lives. It usually consists of a couple of cops stationed in another black SUV.

On Tuesday night, however, more cops than usual were guarding the mayor's home. That's because ACT UP Philadelphia was staging a barbecue that attracted some 35 persons to protest Kenney's policies regarding the homeless. 

ACT UP, which advocates on behalf of people with AIDS and HIV, claims our soft-hearted mayor isn't giving away enough free housing. A poster for the event displayed a picture of the mayor's head on a pig roasting on a spit. 

"End all evictions," the poster said. "Come to eat. protest @Kenney's . . . Come roast Kenney for his failures."

But last night, the protest turned violent, and a couple of cops got hurt. 

Sgt. Eric Reiser of the Civil Affairs Unit was hit in the face while attempting to arrest Gladys Nebriga during the protest outside the mayor's house. While the suspect resisted arrest, "other protesters punched and kicked Sgt. Reiser," a police report said. 

When another officer attempted to handcuff Nebriga, she allegedly bit Police Officer Michael Williams on his forearm, a police report said.

Nebriga, 31, of SW 30th St., was one of two protesters who according to the Inquirer, were arrested and charged with aggravated assault, simple assault, defiant trespassing and reckless endangerment. The other was Elliot Hughes, 32, of the 300 block of S. Broad St., who was arrested after he allegedly tried to punch Sgt. Reiser. 

Reiser, who sustained a broken finger, was treated and released at Jefferson University Hospital. Police Officer Williams declined medical treatment.

While the cops guarding the mayor's house were taking their lumps, the suspects who allegedly assaulted the police were being released on their own recognizance.

They will no doubt be greeted with open arms by District Attorney Larry Krasner, another progressive leader with a big heart for lawbreakers who can be counted on to drop the charges against them. 

And while all this mayhem was going on, where was the mayor?

Kenney wasn't home, sources said. And he wasn't at his girlfriend's house either.

Instead, sources said, the mayor, accompanied by more members of his security team, was taking in a Phillies game. Kenney watched the hometown heroes lose 6-4 to the Nationals. 

Yep, whenever Kenney and/or his fiancee goes out to a ballgame, or a restaurant, or down the shore to visit Letty's condo in Margate, they're being chauffeured around in style by cops in a city-owned SUV.  

Isn't it great that our mayor and his gal pal always get VIP treatment while the residents of certain zip codes in this city have to worry about dodging bullets?

Ok, so it's a bit of a double standard here. Our progressive mayor who's always in favor of defunding the cops and passing more gun control laws, doesn't mind being surrounded 24/7 by cops with guns, as long as they're protecting him and Letty.

But again, at every moment he's being protected and pampered, know this: Mayor Kenney always carries a heavy heart. Because, as he glances through the tinted windows of his city-issued SUV, he cares so much about the plight of the little people. 

Particularly the people of color who are getting shot and killed in record numbers under the progressive policies of Kenney, Krasner and Police Commissioner Outlaw, another stellar Kenney appointee. 

City officials, citing safety concerns, declined to offer any details about the mayor's whereabouts, or the disturbance outside his home.

"As a matter of security, we're not commenting on this," wrote Kevin Lessard, deputy communications director in the mayor's office, in an email. 

Lessard also declined to give out any figures regarding how much the city is paying for Kenney's security detail. But he did suggest that Big Trial should file a right-to-know request to find out how much the detail is costing taxpayers.

Thanks, Kevin, we'll take your advice. And hopefully in the future, we can fully inform the public about how much they're shelling out to protect our invaluable mayor.

Meanwhile, homicides this year were up to 316 as of Tuesday, a 30% increase over last year's near-record pace of 499 murders. At this rate the city will set an all-time record this year with 648 murders. 

Another acomplishment the progressive troika of Kenney, Krasner and Outlaw can be proud of. 

Kenney's security detail has been working around the clock at a time when the police budget has been basically frozen for the second consecutive year in a row. This happened after 14 City Council members last summer voted down a proposed $14 million increase for police spending for the 2022 fiscal year.

Before those council members went on a well-deserved three month vacation. 

Last month, before they went off on another well-deserved three-month vacation, the City Council approved a $5.2 billion city budget for 2022 that includes $727 million for police.

That police budget represents a 2.4% decrease in funding as a share of the city's general operating budget when compared to 2016 spending levels. 

But while funding for the cops is frozen, at least we know that Mayor Kenney and his gal pal will always be protected 24/7, regardless of cost. 

And they'll be traveling in style wherever they go.