An additional 11 of the city's 21 police districts did not follow department policies for filing complaints. Problems included creating a hostile environment for complainants, and neglecting to inform them of the procedure and locations to file a complaint.
Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey said in an interview with the Daily News that he would address the problems found during the checks, and stressed his commitment to rooting out police misbehavior.
"We need to get the complaints. We need to be able to do a thorough and complete investigation and let the cards fall where they may," Ramsey said. "I will definitely deal with these five [districts].
"In the meantime, we have reinforced with our personnel that if a person wants to make a complaint against a police officer, give them the form," Ramsey said, adding that he previously established a hot line to address such issues.
During the spot checks, reporters visited every police district and politely requested a form to file a complaint against a police officer. All the reporters requested anonymity and said they would rather not discuss the nature of the complaint.
But a handful of officers and supervisors on duty didn't abide the request.
In the crowded lobby of the 12th District in Southwest Philly, a lieutenant on duty grilled a reporter about the nature of the complaint even after she said she didn't want to speak about it. He then told the reporter to complain at the Internal Affairs Bureau in the Northeast.
At the 19th District in West Philly, a supervisor was hostile and demanded ID before she would provide a complaint form.
