The
late, great conservative writer, editor and TV host of Firing Line was once asked
why then-Senator Bobby Kennedy did not appear on Firing Line.
“Why
does baloney reject the meat grinder?” Buckley replied.
So
you have to respect Philadelphia Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw (seen in
the above photo) for agreeing to be interviewed by Ralph Cipriano (seen in the
below photo), a veteran reporter and frequent and harsh critic of Mayor Kenney,
Philly D.A. Larry Krasner and the commissioner herself.
The
interview appeared at www.bigtrial.net
Every
few weeks, a new rumor sweeps through the Philadelphia Police Department about
new Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw.
In
May, one of the earliest rumors had Outlaw heading back to the West Coast, to
take over as police chief in her native Oakland. Other rumors had an unhappy
Outlaw negotiating a buyout, and packing her bags for other locales.
This
week, the big rumor was that Outlaw was supposedly out of the office on a
two-week vacation sandwiched around the July 4th holiday, when all days off for
cops have been canceled for Saturday, because a fresh round of protests is
expected in the birthplace of democracy. As a joke, somebody sent around a
photo of a milk carton with the police commissioner's face on it, under the
caption, "Missing. Have You Seen Me? If found, contact Philly
Police."
"Bullshit
rumors trying to undermine her," snapped Managing Director Brian
Abernathy, when asked about the Outlaw on vacation rumor; he referred further
comment to the police department.
But
today, instead of having a department flack issue a statement, Outlaw decided
to address the latest rumor personally. Not true about that vacation, she
stated firmly in a phone interview today. "As you know there's rumors that
just run amok" at the Philly P.D. But contrary to rumors, Outlaw said,
"I'm here and I'll be working this weekend."
In her first four months on the job, Outlaw has had to deal with
an officer getting murdered in the line of duty, a pandemic, and the George
Floyd protests that the department clearly was unprepared for. The protests
quickly devolved into riots, looting and arson fires that left the city with
hundreds of millions of dollars in property damages.
As
one crisis after another hit the P.D., Outlaw came under steady criticism from
inside and outside the department for not being visible enough on the job, at
venues like crime scenes, press conferences, and the front lines when
protesters were storming the city.
As
one veteran police commander put it, "A police commissioner is expected to
be seen by the troops, standing shoulder-to-shoulder, fighting alongside them.
Not sitting in the comfort of her office, which is apparently all she does all
day."
Asked
about the visibility issue, Outlaw says that mugging for the cameras is not her
style. And instead of hiding in her office, she's says she's out and about in
the city, but on her own terms.
"I'll
drive around and pop up at precincts," she said. "It's not planned.
It's more authentic. When I show up I don't travel with cameras, I don't do
things for cameras."
You
can read the rest of the piece via the below link:
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