The Philadelphia Police Department's system of punishing misconduct in its ranks is so flawed that six months ago, a city lawyer pronounced it "dysfunctional."
Consider:
An officer who pulled out his gun and pointed it at patrons of a local tavern after a night of drinking was not punished.
Nor was the driver of a police wagon that sped along then suddenly stopped, hurling a handcuffed passenger into a wall and leaving him paralyzed.
And a police captain who crashed his unmarked car in an alcohol-related accident, then staged a cover-up, escaped with a 20-day suspension and later a transfer - for behavior that could have gotten him fired.
Mayor Street has called for reform, and on Monday a panel of lawyers he appointed will begin a series of public hearings aimed at finding ways to improve the system and ensure that police misconduct is appropriately punished.
The mayor's task force was formed amid the furor over the case of Capt. James J. Brady, the former Homicide Division commander who crashed his police car after a night of drinking in 1998, then left the scene and later lied to investigators.
Police Commissioner John F. Timoney suspended Brady for 20 days, along with a lieutenant who helped stage the cover-up, but Timoney allowed Brady to keep his high-profile post with the Homicide Division.
Internal Affairs had recommended charging Brady with conduct unbecoming an officer, a serious violation that can result in dismissal, but a disciplinary tribunal recommended a lesser charge, and Timoney agreed.
Soon after The Inquirer reported the incident and the cover-up in March, Street condemned Brady's actions, and Timoney, who initially defended his decision to allow Brady to retain his prestigious post, backpedaled and transferred Brady to night command.
The American Civil Liberties Union and Mothers Against Drunk Driving decried the commissioner's decision not to impose harsher punishment. And Street, seeking to quell growing public concern about police misconduct, appointed the task force.
Since April, the panel of seven lawyers - including a law professor, a former judge, and three former prosecutors - has interviewed more than a dozen people in private sessions.
"We've spent much of this time learning about the system," said task force chairwoman JoAnne A. Epps, a professor at Temple University Law School and former federal prosecutor.
