Malcolm Jenkins joins community in asking for more transparency in top cop search

Tyler and others gathered inside the Arch Street United Methodist Church on Monday night after they delivered 1,776 letters from city residents urging the mayor to be more transparent in the search for the next police commissioner and in the new collective bargaining agreement between the city and the police union. The current contract expires next year.

“I recognize that this is a personnel decision and that there is a sensitivity that goes with with it,” Tyler said. “But at the same time, because of the stakes that are on the table, there has to be some kind of consideration. There are certain things that you can say. But we’ve heard nothing. You have to find a way to strike that balance and I don’t think that the administration has even tried.”

More than 200 people braved the wintry weather to join the rally, which started earlier in the afternoon with the letters being delivered to Kenney’s office. Organized by Color of Change in partnership with residents, advocates and organizations across the city, the group included Philadelphia Eagles captain and Players Coalition founder Malcolm Jenkins, District Attorney Larry Krasner and Chief Public Defender Keir Bradford-Grey, all making the same demand — that the mayor’s office be more transparent.

The administration has refused to provide any details about the selection. On Friday, Mike Dunn, a spokesman for the Kenney administration, said any disclosure about the process “would not be fair to the candidates” and that it might scare some away a good number of them.

“Whoever the mayor appoints as the next commissioner, they must promise to make major changes in how policing occurs in the city,” Jenkins said. “There can be no tolerance for racism going forward. The commissioner must implement strict policies to limit the impact of racial biases.

“The mayor was elected by a strong majority,” Jenkins added, “but in doing so, we did not elect to be left out of this important process. And there is still time for him to rectify that.”

The coalition has several key issues they want to see addressed: They are seeking an independent, civilian-run police oversight agency that is “adequately funded and ensures transparency and accountability in the way the police department operates, reforms to the “broken grievance arbitration process system that reinstates police who violate the Philadelphia Police Departments Disciplinary Code,” and end to the policy of “stop and frisk, both pedestrian and vehicular stops) that discriminates against people of color.”

Bradford-Grey said the actions of some police in the city, under the guise of “public safety,” have created a false narrative coming from police.

“I don’t know about you, but I don’t feel safer with what’s been going on,” she said.