Even though I read The Philadelphia Inquirer every day, I don’t normally do so expecting something humorous. But this time reporters Anna Orso and Chris Palmer provided some really belly laughs!

Police commissioner Danielle Outlaw has unwittingly become a ‘political football.’ The mayor’s race could decide her future.

If history is a guide, the next mayor is likely to pick a new top cop — a decision that would shake up one of the nation’s largest police forces.

by Anna Orso and Chris Palmer | Wednesday, April 19, 2023 | 5:00 AM EDT

Danielle Outlaw, photo from Philadelphia magazine.

Philadelphia’s mayoral candidates have faced repeated questions in recent months about the fate of one city employee: Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw.Their answers have ranged from tepid support to accusations that Outlaw has “done a bad job” amid a gun violence crisis. Most have offered noncommittal responses on whether they’d stick with her if elected.

But if history is a guide, the next mayor is likely to pick a new top cop — a decision that would shake up one of the nation’s largest police forces and influence how its 6,000 officers and employees engage with city residents.

I’m not sure how Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw leaving her job would really “shake up one of the nation’s largest police forces,” considering she’s not actually at her desk all that much.

The last two mayors to be sworn into office have appointed new commissioners. And such turnover has also been common in other big cities: In Chicago last month, the police chief resigned the day after the mayor’s reelection bid fell apart. And New York City Mayor Eric Adams hired his own chief last year — and even considered Outlaw for the role.

An obvious point here that Mr Palmer and Miss Orso neglected to tell readers: Chicago Police Superintendent David Brown resigned after incumbent Mayor Lori Lightfoot missed out on the mayoral runoff election, coming in third with just 16%^[1]Edited: I had misgoofed and typed 61%, and reader 370H55V I/me/mine caught it for me. of the vote, because not only did the two candidates who advanced to the runoff, Paul Vallas and Brandon Johnson, but all of Miss Lightfoot’s opponents “vowed to fire Brown on day one of becoming mayor.”

Interestingly enough, Mr Brown took the reins of the Chicago Police Department in April of 2020, just two months after Miss Outlaw became Police Commissioner of Philadelphia. And both have failed just as spectacularly.

Outlaw, who was appointed in 2020, has been out recently while recovering from a car accident. In an emailed statement, she said: “I do not think anyone particularly enjoys having their name positioned as a political football.”

Hey, you want to play in the big leagues, you have opened yourself up to criticism, but remember, Philly is the city in which Eagles’ fans booed Santa Claus and pelted him with snowballs. Rough crowd.

But, as we noted here, the Commissioner says that she has a back injury from an incident in which another driver struck her chauffeured vehicle, but a truly dedicated Police Commissioner, someone who has a desk job, would be working, even if it had to be from home and in a recliner, unless she was completely bed-ridden or seriously doped up on pain medication. Neither of those things has been reported to be the case.

When your city has been suffering from a 500+ a year homicide rate, a dedicated Police Commissioner wouldn’t take any days off.

While noting that ethics rules bar her from speaking to candidates about their plans, she said she’s focused on issues including crime prevention, improving clearance rates, and implementing policy reforms.

If those are the issues on which she has focused, she has clearly failed. Clearance rates have dropped. While the Philadelphia Police Department is the nation’s fourth largest, with an authorized strength of 6,500 officers and 800 civilian personnel, the department is seriously undermanned, and anticipated retirements significantly outnumber potential academy graduating classes.

In 2021, following criticism of her tenure, the Commissioner fought back:

“Am I enough? Absolutely, and some,” she said. “Do I deserve to be here? Absolutely, and some. Did I lead this department in the last year? Absolutely, and some. No police commissioner, chief, superintendent has ever had to deal with what we’ve dealt with in the past year.”

She just doesn’t get it. When your team isn’t winning, excuses don’t matter. When people are pointing out that you haven’t done your job well, then you haven’t done your job well. People who do their jobs well don’t have to tell people about it; everyone already knows.

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