Philadelphia Police Department Changes Modified Arrest Policy For Non-Violent Offenders Amid COVID-19 Pandemic

WPVI TV Channel 6 News in Philadelphia reports that the Philadelphia Police has changed its arrest policy since the COVID-19 outbreak.

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- The Philadelphia Police Department said on Friday it is making changes to the arrest policy put in place amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

In a statement issued Friday, the department said suspects for several offenses will now be arrested and 'processed in the traditional manner.'

Those offenses are:

-Burglary
-Theft From Auto
-Theft from Person
-Stolen Auto
-Retail Theft

When the policy was first announced, officers were asked to use their discretion as to whether suspects should be taken into custody or released on a warrant to be served at a later date.

Since then, however, police say several things have changed including warmer weather, an increase in retail theft and an increase in burglaries "committed by recidivist offenders." 

You can read the rest of the piece via the below link:

https://6abc.com/philadelphia-not-arresting-no-arrests-non-violent-crimes-police-making/6143608/ 

Constitution Health Plaza Cancels Plans For Safe Injection Site In South Philadelphia

WPVI, a TV station in Philadelphia, reports that the drug injection site scheduled to open in South Philadelphia, the first in the nation, will not open as planned due to outraged residents and local political representatives.

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- In an abrupt turn of events, the plan for the country's first supervised injection site to open in South Philadelphia stopped in its tracks Thursday

The controversial injection site to be operated by non-profit Safehouse was scheduled to open next week at Constitution Health Plaza at Broad and McKean streets.

However, a spokesperson with the Constitution Health Plaza says they are canceling the lease.

"We have made the decision to cancel plans to locate a supervised injection site at Constitution Health Plaza," said Anthony Campisi, a spokesman for Constitution Health Plaza.

You can read the rest of the piece and watch the video clip via the below link:

 https://6abc.com/society/lease-for-south-philly-safe-injection-site-canceled/5972240/ 

Blue Lives Also Matter: Philadelphia Police Unveil Cars With Bulletproof Windows

The Philadelphia TV news station 6abc.com offers a piece on the new Philadelphia Police patrol cars equipped with bulletproof windows.

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- Philadelphia police have 150 new patrol cars on the way with a feature that no other major municipality has: bulletproof windows.

The vehicles have ballistic shields affixed to the front door panels and what is dubbed 'transparent armor' backstops a large portion of the original equipment glass in the front windows.

It all makes this modified car resistant to pistol and shotgun ammunition.

"It is cutting edge in the sense that it provides protection for police officers seated in the vehicle from gunfire," said Commissioner Richard Ross.

You can read the rest of the piece and watch a video news clip via the below link:

http://6abc.com/philly-police-unveil-cars-with-bulletproof-windows/2559328/ 

A Murderer's Own Words: Confession Of Man Who Killed Philadelphia Doctor

David Henry at WPVI TV News, an ABC local, offers a piece on the confession of Jason Smith (seen in the above Philadelphia police mugshot), the murderer of a Philadelphia doctor.

PHILADELPHIA - April 10, 2013 (WPVI) -- Action News has obtained a copy of the signed confession from the man accused of killing a doctor in Center City Philadelphia.  

That confession was read in open court on Wednesday during the preliminary hearing for 36-year-old Jason Smith.

Smith, an exterminator from Bucks County, was called to the home of Melissa Ketunuti back on January 21st to take care of a rodent problem.

Ketunuti's burning body was found in the basement of her home in the 1700 block of Naudain Street later that day.
Smith was arrested three days later at his home in Levittown, Pa.

You can read the rest of the piece and the confession via the below link:

http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/story?section=news/local&id=9060131

Gun Control? How About Train Control? Deranged Man Tosses Woman Onto Subway Train Tracks In Philadelphia

The Philadelphia Inquirer reports that a deranged man who tossed a woman in front of a subway train in Philadelphia has been arrested.

A Man who police say is mentally challenged was arrested Thursday for allegedly attacking a woman and throwing her on the tracks at a Center City subway station.

The attack happened Tuesday about 3:30 p.m. at the Chinatown station of the Broad-Ridge Spur at 8th and Race streets.

Surveillance footage of the incident shows the man waiting by himself on the northbound platform when a woman walks up and sits on a nearby bench. The woman reported the man asked to borrow a lighter.

Once the woman obliged, the man grabs her around the neck, punches her in the face several times, and violently grabs her off the bench. He drags her across the platform and throws her onto the track.

The 23-year-old victim was able to get up from the track before a train arrived and walk to the southbound track, where she climbed back onto the platform.

You can read the rest of the story via the below link:

http://www.philly.com/philly/news/20130118_Woman_was_pushed_onto_SEPTA_tracks__man_arrested.html

You can also watch a WPVI TV News clip and video of the attack via the below link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dTb9By4d6yI

This is yet another case of a mentally ill person pushing a person onto train tracks.

We have mentally ill people using guns to harm people, so the knee-jerk reaction is to call for gun control.

And we have mentally ill people using subway trains to harm people. Should we also call for train control?

The issue ought not to be guns (or trains). The issue should be about how we deal with the mentally ill.

You can read Ann Coulter's column on gun control and the mentally ill via the below link:

http://www.humanevents.com/2013/01/16/ann-coulter-guns-dont-kill-people-the-mentally-ill-do/