I ventured to South Philly High - my old school - in 2008 to see the newly appointed Philadelphia Police Commissioner Charles H. Ramsey at one of his scheduled town halls around the city.
Ramsey faced a racially-charged group that was furious with the police over the shooting death of a young Black criminal suspect and there were various activist groups there looking for a public forum to vent.
Ramsey handled them all well. He said he would wait for the investigation of the shooting (later ruled justified) before he would comment on it, but he defended the police in general terms. I also liked the way he answered a woman who asked if he was going to work with the Black clergy.
"I'm going to work with all the clergy, not just the Black clergy," Ramsey responded.
I believe Ramsey (seen in the above Yong Kim photo) has been a good commissioner and I'm pleased that he decided to remain in Philadelphia rather than return to Chicago, his home town.
You can read David Gambacorta and Catherine Lucey's piece on Ramsey in The Philadelphia Daily News via the below link:
http://www.philly.com/philly/news/local/20110407_Emotional_ties_-_and_higher_pay_-_persuade_Commissioner_Ramsey_to_stay_put.html?nlid=3601294
You can also watch a video interview of Ramsey at NBCPhiladelphia.com via the below link:
http://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/Philly_s__Just_a_Great_Town__Philadelphia-119429739.html?__source=Newsletter-Daily
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