Police Dept. wrestles with another corruption case

The Philadelphia Police Department is in full damage control mode today as its top officials examine videos showing on-duty officers entering a closed bar in the Northeast, drinking beer and taking hundreds of dollars in cash.

The bar, Pat's Cafe at 4690 Castor Ave., also happens to be the place where Police Officer Gary Skerski was shot and killed in 2006 when he interrupted a robbery.

Without providing any details about the reported break in, Police Commissioner Charles H. Ramsey said he wanted the investigation completed "as soon as possible."

A police department spokesman has confirmed that at least two uniformed officers have been removed from street duty as a result of an Internal Affairs investigation.

Surveillance video showed two officers getting into the closed bar through an open sidewalk entrance way to the basement early Tuesday.

The pair reportedly had responded to a burglary alarm at a nearby auto repair shop before entering the bar.

Surveillance video inside the bar broadcast this afternoon on 6ABC did reveal the officer's faces but showed them at the bar drinking what appeared to be beer.

The pair was joined by a third man in civilian clothes, believed to also be a police officer.

Before leaving, one uniformed officer allegedly went into a side room and took cash - about $800, according to one report - from a safe.

Crime scene investigators removed safes from the bar Wednesday in front of television cameras.

The case is the second to threaten department's reputation this month.

On July 13, federal agents arrested three police officers and charged them with stealing heroin from a drug dealer.

The three have been released on bail.