Philadelphia Voters: Let Cops Be Cops Democratic mayoral candidate Cherelle Parker wants police to question and frisk when necessary. James Freeman
https://www.wsj.com/articles/philadelphia-voters-let-cops-be-cops-c6ebf736?mod=opinion_lead_pos11
After a violent era in Philadelphia, the city’s voters have rejected the broken and bloody promises of the progressive left and nominated two mayoral candidates pledging to restore public safety.
Since Democrats have an overwhelming advantage in voter registration, the likely winner will be Democratic mayoral candidate Cherelle Parker, a former City Council member and state legislator. At a Monday press conference she talked about her goal of “restoring our police department to its full complement and that means using every tool that we can to make sure we get officers on the job.”
She also wants to let them use constitutional tools to do the job. Ms. Parker—and remember she’s a Democrat—is not just saying fund the police. Once funded, she wants them to police vigorously—and last week’s primary victory says that voters agree with her.
The Journal’s Scott Calvert noted last week:
Ms. Parker, the only Black candidate in the top tier of polling and the candidate who had the most Black support, has spoken favorably of police investigative stops commonly known as stop-and-frisk. The practice in Philadelphia has been under judicial oversight since 2011 amid claims of police abuses.
In a recent radio interview, she said: “I don’t support the unconstitutional use of stop-and-frisk, but constitutionally, yes, I do. It is a tool and I’m unapologetic.” She said as the mother of a 10-year-old Black boy, she knows racial profiling is real but added, “I will not allow anyone to use a paintbrush and broadly paint all of the men and women who put their lives on the line to protect and serve Philadelphians in that same bucket.”
Good for Ms. Parker for being unapologetic in the defense of law and order and for recognizing that one can protect potential victims without sacrificing essential liberties. Cornell Law School’s website helpfully informs:
A stop-and-frisk refers to a brief non-intrusive police stop of a suspect. The Fourth Amendment requires that before stopping the suspect, the police must have a reasonable suspicion that a crime has been, is being, or is about to be committed by the suspect. If the police reasonably suspect that the suspect is armed and dangerous, the police may frisk the suspect, meaning that the police will give a quick pat-down of the suspect’s outer clothing. The frisk is also called a Terry Stop, derived from the Supreme Court case Terry v. Ohio, 392 U.S. 1 (1968).
In 2013 your humble correspondent discussed the issue with then-commissioner of the New York City Police Department Ray Kelly:
What counts as suspicious? Mr. Kelly mentions “scouting out a car, or following people.” Or several young men waiting outside a bodega near closing time, or standing in the shadows near an ATM.
As Mr. Kelly describes it, when a police officer observes such activity, he is allowed to approach people and “ask them the nature of their business, what they’re doing.”… If the officer then feels threatened, he is permitted to do a “limited pat down” of the potential suspect. And if the officer feels something that he believes is a weapon, he can conduct a “full search.”
Philadelphia voters are saying loud and clear that they want to let cops be cops. On the Republican side, mayoral nominee David Oh is a former prosecutor. And the results from the Democratic primary suggest the city may finally be ready to confront the tragic surge in homicides that has characterized this terrible era.
The Commonwealth Foundation’s Jennifer Stefano writes today in the Philadelphia Inquirer:
Black voters, especially those living in low-income neighborhoods, propelled Cherelle Parker to victory in the Democratic primary for mayor of Philadelphia. According to an Inquirer analysis, majority-Black precincts gave nearly 56% of their vote to Parker…
… neither of Philly’s popular former mayors, Michael Nutter and John F. Street, endorsed her. Instead, they threw their weight behind Rebecca Rhynhart — who leaned toward the progressive wing of her party — albeit less so than Helen Gym, who had proclaimed socialists Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on her side.
And the messaging from both Rhynhart and Gym played well with liberal wealthy white elites, 74% of whom voted for either Rhynhart or Gym. In recent elections, liberal wealthy white people seem to be trending toward socialist candidates, perhaps because they usually get to be the ones who benefit most from socialist systems.
Black voters, according to recent surveys, are typically motivated by different factors. A 2022 poll by the Kaiser Family Foundation and theGrio found that the top priorities of many Black voters are economic opportunity, a better life for their kids, and more cops on the beat. Only 17% of Black voters who responded to the survey wanted to decrease funding for the police. Here in Philadelphia, a Lenfest Institute for Journalism/SSRS poll showed that nearly 75% of Black respondents said the city needs more police officers.
Yes it does.
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