Ex-D.C Chief Finds Philly Has Challenges, Too

As D.C. police chief a decade ago, Charles H. Ramsey had to deal with the fallout from a Post investigation which found that city police officers shot and killed more people per capita than any other large city police force. Ramsey requested a Justice Department probe, which led to 10 years of federal oversight and a drop in the number of police shootings.

Last year, Ramsey became Philadelphia's police commissioner, and now he's coping with another matter of alleged misconduct by officers. A video has surfaced showing police beating three suspects during a traffic stop.

The video, which was recorded Monday night from a helicopter news crew from Fox affiliate WTXF-TV following a police chase, shows three police cruisers stopping a car by the side of a road and, moments later, about six officers kicking and striking three men with a baton.

At a press conference, Mayor Michael A. Nutter, called the behavior "unacceptable" and added that it was "not acceptable to do anything less than what we expect of Philadelphia police officers, and they know that."

Ramsey, who was D.C.'s top cop from 1998 to 2007, said a sergeant and five officers have been taken off active street duty and a probe into the incident has begun.

By The Editors |  May 8, 2008; 5:03 PM ET Law Enforcement
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