NORTHEAST PHILADELPHIA - The leader of the Fraternal Order of Police is sharply criticizing the City Controller’s audit of the police department claiming it makes the leadership of the department appear as if, "…they can’t do anything right."The bombshell audit released yesterday by City Controller Rebecca Rhynhart found there are 640 fewer cops than five years ago.
It revealed in a department of 6,000 officers, only 2,500 are on patrol and, stretched over 21 police districts, sometimes as few as 11 to 22 officers are on the street at any one time.In a late morning press conference, FOP President John McNesby said, "A lot of the stuff that’s in here, we’ve already been working to solve.
You think we want 11 cops or five cops at a roll call? Absolutely not."RELATED COVERAGE: Philadelphia Controller's review of police spending details staffing issues, varying 911 response timesStanding in the lobby of the Northeast Philadelphia union headquarters, McNesby tied the critical report to Rhynhart’s interest in running for mayor.
McNesby said, "If you want to run for mayor, we wish you luck, but don’t do it on the backs of hard-working police officers in the city of Philadelphia."MORE HEADLINES:In response, Rhynhart said, "Mr.