Philadelphia Police Department

A 14-YEAR veteran of the Philadelphia Police Department was arrested Monday for allegedly engaging in an ongoing conspiracy to steal from a local toy store, police said. Bridgette Paris, 48, was charged with retail theft, theft by unlawful taking, receiving stolen property, forgery and related offenses, police said. The charges followed an investigation by the department's Internal Affairs Bureau and the Philadelphia District Attorney's Office. Police have not identified the store that Paris allegedly targeted.

Throughout seven days of testimony and evidence against him in the Lex Street massacre case, accused killer Dawud Faruqi showed no emotion - until the mother of his two young children took the witness stand yesterday. Faruqi slumped in his seat, hung his head, and appeared to fight off tears as Naasiha Ryant-Brown told jurors that her former boyfriend was "crazy" about guns and repeatedly purported to be a Philadelphia police officer. Ryant-Brown, 21, also testified that her ex-boyfriend was not home on Dec. 28, 2000, the night seven people were slain in a West Philadelphia crack house.

THE BAD news is that this year the city's murder rate is up. The good news is that Philadelphia police are trying a variety of new tactics to bring it back down. As reported Monday by our colleague David Gambacorta , the city won a major federal grant to try out new policing strategies. The Smart Policing Initiative doesn't rely on higher IQs but on intelligent deployment aimed at putting cops in close touch with the communities they serve. Besides actual feet on the street, the effort will include plainclothes surveillance and reinforcements from other city agencies addressing underlying issues like vacant properties or nuisance bars that contribute to lawlessness.

When Philadelphia police officers have questions about the nuts and bolts of the department, be it evidence storage, fingerprinting, or employee-assistance programs, there's a good chance Chief Inspector Robert Davis knows the answer. Davis, who heads the department's Support Services bureau, has over the last decade become an expert on the finer details of what it takes to keep the 6,600-plus members of the Philadelphia police force up and running. Davis, who retires Friday after 42 years on the job, still isn't quite sure how he became the behind-the-scenes details man in recent years.

THIS IS in response to a letter written by Donna Di Giacomo: I don't write many letters to the editor but find, as a citizen of this great city, that I must. I take exception to calling the Philadelphia Police Department the "Philadelphia Thug Department," as your letter appears to state. I don't believe that the police went to assault anyone, but went to enforce a legal order. I believe that the city and the police gave the Occupy movement great leeway. And they are not thugs.

Maximum penalties The brutal videotaped beating, kicking, pummeling, striking and punching - reminiscent of Rodney King - of an unarmed and wounded black man named Thomas Jones by about 12 Philadelphia police officers is inexcusable and must result in maximum criminal penalties by state and federal law-enforcement authorities. In addition, the wanton blasting of about 50 shots from several high-powered police firearms in a residential neighborhood at noon, with slugs tearing into cars and houses and ricocheting into the air, is even more inexcusable and must also result in maximum penalties.

From 1990 to 1995, the Philadelphia Police Department fired 82 officers it found had committed robbery, rape, extortion, drug trafficking and other offenses. One was convicted of murder. But almost until the moment it fired them, the department gave those officers top performance ratings - including the murderer. Gene Lomazoff, a sergeant in the 35th Police District in Olney, was convicted of pulling over motorists for traffic infractions, then shaking them down for cash between November 1990 and June 1993.

SINCE JOINING the Philadelphia Police Department in 2003, Officer Deona Carter has been heralded by her supervisors as a "reliable" cop with "sound judgment. " "Carter's appearance is professional and she gets along well with her peers," her boss wrote in a 2008 performance report. The 29-year-old officer's Internet fans also rave about her appearance. "Sexy ass," one horndog wrote on her MySpace page. "If u r the law i m so doing the crime," another wrote. "YOU CAN HANDCUFF ME AND BEAT ME," wrote an online friend named "butta.

DESTINED FOR THE SMELTER'S FIRE, weapons confiscated by the Philadelphia Police Department await shipment. Detective Edward Tenuto, a police spokesman, said 2,655 weapons were sent yesterday to a steel company in Claymont, Del., to be melted down.

2 die in fiery car crash; driver charged with DUI * Ditman Street near Disston A 31-year-old man and a 26-year-old woman died Thursday morning after a crash in Tacony, police said. A 2012 Camaro and a 2004 Kia collided when the driver of the Camaro failed to stop at a stop sign about 8:20 a.m., police said. The man and woman were thrown from the Kia, which burst into flames. They were pronounced dead at 8:35 a.m., police said. The driver of the Camaro was arrested and charged with driving under the influence, police said.

These days, when Philadelphia police officers respond to robberies and shootings, they might learn that video surveillance from the scene has already been pulled from cameras in the area. Officers in neighborhoods known for car thefts, meanwhile, might be handed an automatic license-plate reader that can scan thousands of vehicles within a few hours. And in the future, the half hour it might take to conduct database searches for criminal records and other information could be cut to 30 seconds.

THIS IS in response to a letter written by Donna Di Giacomo: I don't write many letters to the editor but find, as a citizen of this great city, that I must. I take exception to calling the Philadelphia Police Department the "Philadelphia Thug Department," as your letter appears to state. I don't believe that the police went to assault anyone, but went to enforce a legal order. I believe that the city and the police gave the Occupy movement great leeway. And they are not thugs.

SINCE JOINING the Philadelphia Police Department in 2003, Officer Deona Carter has been heralded by her supervisors as a "reliable" cop with "sound judgment. " "Carter's appearance is professional and she gets along well with her peers," her boss wrote in a 2008 performance report. The 29-year-old officer's Internet fans also rave about her appearance. "Sexy ass," one horndog wrote on her MySpace page. "If u r the law i m so doing the crime," another wrote. "YOU CAN HANDCUFF ME AND BEAT ME," wrote an online friend named "butta.

Members of the Philadelphia Police Department's bomb squad are investigating a possible pipe bomb found at the historic First Bank of the United State Building in Old City this afternoon, police said. The object found on the 100 block of South Third Street streets appeared to be a pipe with wires attached, police said. There is no word yet on whether the device found is actually explosive.

Deputy Commissioner Richard Ross: Far and away the pick on most people's minds, Ross was considered a top prospect three years ago when Ramsey got the job. The 22-year veteran served as captain of the Homicide Division before being promoted to deputy. FOP President John McNesby sang his praises yesterday, saying: "Richie would be the obvious guy. He knows how to get things done. " Upper Moreland Chief of Police Thomas Nestel III: Nestel served in the Philly police department for 22 years, reaching the rank of staff inspector before departing for the 'burbs in 2007.

The headaches just keep on coming for the Philadelphia Police Department. Two officers were recently arrested and kicked off the job in separate incidents, authorities said yesterday. Officer Brien Greene, 27, walked into a doughnut shop on 52nd Street near Market on Jan. 11 and became enraged at a female employee who was talking on the phone, a law-enforcement source said. Greene allegedly threw a trash can at the woman and another employee, pulled out a gun and said, "I'll f------ shoot you," the source said.

After almost four decades on the police force in Newark, N.J., Lt. Robert Marelli spends his last days itemizing saddles, bridles, and brushes. "My heart's been cut out," said Marelli, poised to retire. "The unit's been decimated. This is what I've known. They're putting me out to pasture, too. " Newark's mounted unit of 18 horses will be officially out of work come Jan. 31 after 120 years, victims of budget woes. But Newark's loss is Philadelphia's gain. Sometime this week, Marelli will load up a horse trailer with feed, hay, and bedding, and bring the Philadelphia Police Department four new recruits: Broadway Kevin, Amazing Art, Seelster Sam, and American Yankee.

Two Philadelphia police officers were wounded and a gunman was killed in a shoot-out that erupted during a traffic stop Friday night in West Philadelphia, authorities said. Officer Adam O'Donnell was shot in the chest about 8 in the Cobbs Creek section and was rushed to the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. Originally listed in stable condition, he was released before 11. His partner, Ivan Centeno, was grazed by a bullet and was also treated and released. Police said the officers saw a green minivan run a red light at 57th and Spruce Streets, and when they tried to stop it, the driver refused to pull over.

Philadelphia police are investigating the alleged sexual assault of a woman in a Temple University residence hall early Saturday. According to CBS3 and 6ABC, the student told police that two Temple football players raped her in a dormitory room. Philadelphia police told The Inquirer Monday that they are investigating a sexual assault on Temple's campus but gave no further information. An athletic department spokesman deferred comment to a university spokesman. "We received a report of a sexual assault from a student on Saturday that took place on our campus in a residence hall," said Ray Betzner, an assistant vice president for university communications at Temple.