New Phila. police chief named

The Associated Press Philadelphia Mayor Ed Rendell, under pressure to bring New York City's crime-fighting success to Philadelphia, appointed a former New York deputy police commissioner to lead the city's 6,000-member force yesterday. Rendell announced the appointment of John Timoney just five days after the resignation of Philadelphia Police Commissioner Richard Neal, who was badgered by increasing criticism from City Council members and state representatives who wanted to see a focus on drug dealing and nuisance crimes. ''[Timoney is] a policeman's policeman and a cop's cop,'' Rendell said. ''I thought we were at a critical juncture in the future of the city's Police Department." Timoney, the brogue from his native Ireland still clear in his speech, said he will be a hand's-on commissioner, learning the force by walking the streets, riding in cruisers and showing up in districts in the middle of the night. ''I think the next 22 months are going to be a lot of fun,'' he said. Philadelphia consistently falls among the top 10 safest largest cities in the country but has fallen short of New York's success in the past several years, according to FBI statistics. Major crime -- which includes murder, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, theft and car theft -- dropped about 14 percent from 1995 to 1996 in Philadelphia. Timoney quit the New York police last March one day after Mayor Rudolph Giuliani appointed former Fire Commissioner Howard Safir as police commissioner. Timoney, apparently bitter about not getting the job left by his mentor, William Branton, described Safir as a ''lightweight.'' In choosing Timoney, Rendell passed on at least two Philadelphia candidates: Deputy License and Inspections Commissioner Edward J. McLaughlin, a former police officer, and Deputy Commissioners Dexter Green and Sylvester Johnson.

Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.