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(02/13/98 10:00am)
Richard Neal, the head of the city's police force, will join the university as a consultant. Philadelphia Police Commissioner Richard Neal, who has been widely criticized during his six-year tenure for his management style and failure to cut crime across the city, said yesterday he will resign next month to take a consulting job with Drexel University's security department. Neal's resignation came after a private meeting with Mayor Ed Rendell Wednesday and followed months of speculation that he would step down. The 58-year-old commissioner has come under fire for everything from neglecting to tackle "drug corners" to punishing officers for talking to the media. Also, he has been criticized for being slow to adopt crime-fighting tactics that have enabled other cities to cut crime dramatically. In 1997, when most cities had plummeting crime rates, Philadelphia's stayed remarkably static. It is unclear who will take Neal's place as commissioner when he leaves on March 6. Neal was unavailable for comment yesterday. "This should be a refreshing change of pace for him," said Penn Managing Director of Public Safety Tom Seamon, a former Philadelphia Police deputy commissioner under Neal. Neal is Seamon's former boss. But when Seamon left his Philadelphia post in 1995 to head Penn's Division of Public Safety, he took a job that is both more demanding and more powerful than the job Neal will assume. Drexel had initially offered Neal the position last December. Seamon said his work at Penn has been "a very challenging assignment," adding that it includes not only managing police, but also security guards and technology. According to Seamon, Penn and Drexel have "different conditions." Drexel is smaller, has a large commuter population and lacks a police department, making Drexel's public safety operations less complicated to manage, Seamon said. Drexel officials said their hiring of Neal was part of a "long-term initiative" to "enhance" safety on campus. Drexel, which employs about 100 Spectaguard security guards, plans to promote its current security director, Richard Cottom, to the position of associate vice president for public safety and auxiliary services. Neal's official title at the school will be "security consultant." His salary for the job -- which he will earn in addition to a $92,000-a-year pension from the city -- has not been disclosed. "Richard Neal's extensive experience and skills in public safety and law enforcement will help build our public safety program into a model for other universities," Drexel University President Constantine Papadakis said in a statement yesterday. Neal has worked for the Philadelphia Police Department since 1962, when he began as a beat patrol officer in the 12th District in Southwest Philadelphia. He later became captain of the 19th District in Northwest Philadelphia and an interim chief of the Philadelphia Housing Authority Police. Neal was the city's chief inspector when he was named the police commissioner, replacing Chief Willie Williams, who traveled to Los Angeles to replace Chief Daryl Gates. Gates stepped down after Rodney King's beating by police prompted city-wide riots. Philadelphia officials chose Neal as commissioner over nine finalists, including Seamon, who was the acting police commissioner at the time. Seamon later was one of four finalists to become the city police commissioner of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., before he came to the University in October 1995. Neal spoke at Penn last month at the opening of the Division of Public Safety's new headquarters at 4040 Chestnut Street. At the event, he said he felt some "envy" for the new building.
(02/12/98 10:00am)
University and Philadelphia police detectives are searching for the armed robbers, who stole $1,550. Two masked men armed with handguns robbed the Burger King in Houston Hall late Tuesday night after sneaking into the building through an emergency exit, police said. No one was injured in the incident. A Burger King district manager said the men stole $1,550 in cash from the building at 3417 Spruce Street. The perpetrators then fled west on foot, University Police Det. Commander Tom King said. Neither suspect has been arrested. University Police detectives and the Philadelphia Police Department's Southwest Detectives bureau are currently investigating the robbery, King said. Four employees of the basement fast-food restaurant were cleaning the store shortly after the store closed at 11 p.m. when two men in their late twenties wearing ski masks entered the food-preparation area through an open emergency exit, according to King. The men proceeded to hold a gun to a female employee's head, threatening to shoot her if she did not direct them to the store's safe, Burger King district manager John Myers said. The employee was "too nervous" to remember the combination, but another employee opened the safe, Myers said. After taking about $1,550 in cash, the perpetrators ordered the employees into the store's walk-in refrigerator and fled the building, he said. Although the two suspects allegedly placed boxes up against the door to the refrigerator, the employees managed to shove open the door and hit a panic alarm, alerting University Police, Myers said. No one outside the store witnessed the incident, which occurred after the building was locked for the evening at 11 p.m., Myers said. He said no one else was in the basement of the building at the time. Police described one suspect as a 6'5" black male with a light complexion, short black hair and a long navy blue coat. The other was described as a 5'10" black male with a dark complexion, a short afro and a red jacket. Police are currently trying to determine how the suspects were able to enter the building through an emergency door -- which Myers said is "broken" -- without setting off an alarm. Detectives began questioning former employees of the store yesterday as possible suspects in the incident, Myers said. But Myers said he thought it was unlikely that either of the suspects are former employees of the Burger King because they did not initially know where the safe was.
(02/10/98 10:00am)
Larry Ray was arrested for assault and burglaries in the Penn Tower Hotel. University Police arrested a Philadelphia man yesterday for the bloody January 19 assault of a Health System secretary inside her Penn Tower Hotel office. Officers arrested Larry Ray, 28, of the 1500 block of Hemberger Street, as he cleaned the basement of a fraternity house on the 3900 block of Spruce Street at about 10:15 a.m. yesterday, University Police Det. Commander Tom King said. Police believe Ray, who works for a local cleaning contractor, assaulted Toby Laiken, 53, after she entered her Cancer Center office on the sixth floor of the Penn Tower last month. Laiken --Ewho suffered serious wounds to the lower jaw and eye socket -- was released from the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania January 27. "You could hear a collective whoop over at the Penn Tower," King said of the arrest. Ray was charged with five offenses, including aggravated assault and burglary. As of late last night, he was awaiting arraignment at the Philadelphia Police Department's 18th District headquarters at 55th and Pine streets. A joint force of detectives from University Police and the Philadelphia Police Department's Southwest Detectives bureau began "focusing in" on Ray as the primary suspect more than a week ago, University Police Det. Patricia Brennan said. Police believe Ray entered the hotel at about 4:15 a.m. with the intent of burglarizing offices in the building. He allegedly used the service elevator to reach the fourth, seventh and eighth floors, where he burglarized several offices. Then he went to the sixth floor, police said. Laiken was just coming to work at about 5:15 a.m. when she noticed that a door near the service elevator was open, police said. She spotted the suspect entering a doctor's office, police said. Ray walked down the hall and allegedly proceeded to brutally assault Laiken while she sat at her desk. Police believe that the suspect slammed her head against the desk several times. After she made a strained phone call to her husband, a Physical Plant employee working in the Franklin Building Annex at 36th and Sansom streets, Penn Tower security and Philadelphia and University Police discovered Laiken and rushed her to HUP. She was released after undergoing surgery to her lower jaw. Ray has been arrested seven times previously for offenses including aggravated assault, robbery and burglary, University Police Det. William Danks said. It was unclear last night whether any of the arrests resulted in convictions. "This is the quintessential example of cooperation between Philadelphia and University Police," King said of the 21-day investigation, which was conducted primarily by Brennan and Danks, two senior investigators with a combined experience of 35 years as detectives. Det. Chris Lee of Southwest Detectives assisted in the investigation. Danks and Brennan joined University Police in 1996.
(02/09/98 10:00am)
University Polce found 384 packets of crack cocaine on a youth at 42nd and Walnut streets. University Police officers made an unexpected drug bust Saturday night when they found 384 packets of crack cocaine, valued at $3,800, on a 17-year-old boy at the 7-Eleven store at 42nd and Walnut streets, police said. When an employee of the store hit a panic alarm at about 11:30 p.m., police investigated four individuals inside the store for signs of a possible robbery, University Police Sgt. Thomas Rambo said. Police were uncertain why the employee hit the alarm, saying only that it was for a "disturbance." The four officers released the first three suspects after failing to find anything on them, police said. University Police Officer Chuck DeShields was letting the last one out of his police car when a large bulge made its way slowly down the boy's pants leg, Rambo said. "As he stood up out of the vehicle, six or seven bags of crack came out of his pant leg," said DeShields, a former Pittsburgh Police narcotics officer who has been with the University Police force since March 1996. The bags, which contained 384 vials of crack cocaine, were sent to the Narcotics Division of the Philadelphia Police Department for testing, police said. DeShields also found $580 in cash on the male. But police determined that the cash had not been stolen from the 7-Eleven and that no robbery occurred in the store. The juvenile was arrested for possession of crack cocaine with the intent to sell and transported to the Philadelphia Police Department's Southwest Detectives bureau for processing, police said. A Philadelphia Police detective is currently investigating the incident. According to Philadelphia Police Det. Mike Gross, the suspect cannot legally be tried as an adult because the crime was not violent. If convicted, he most likely would be sent to a juvenile detention center, Gross said. By contrast, three female juveniles who robbed a woman at knifepoint on the 4000 block of Locust Street last week will be tried as adults because they were armed. In an unrelated incident, a male University student was robbed Saturday morning by two males who came from behind him and grabbed his backpack, which contained his wallet, Rambo said. The incident occurred at 7 a.m. Saturday morning on the 4200 block of Osage Avenue. After snatching the bag, the two suspects fled west, Rambo said. And on Friday, University Police Officer Tony Serrano arrested a male who was driving on the 200 block of South 34th Street for possessing a gun, Rambo said. Serrano investigated the male at about 1:15 p.m. for having what appeared to be a stolen license plate, Rambo said. After discovering a black revolver, he arrested the suspect for a weapons violation, police said.
(02/06/98 10:00am)
Jeff Dougherty was the police officer who first approached Bill Sofield The Division of Public Safety said yesterday that it fired University Police Officer Jeff Dougherty this week, less than a year after he was hired. Several University Police officers said Dougherty's firing Monday came after months of official warnings resulting from showing up late for work and other disciplinary infractions. Although Dougherty gained notoriety as the officer who initially approached and cited College freshman Bill Sofield and two companions in front of the Phi Gamma Delta fraternity house October 30, the officers said his termination likely had nothing to do with the incident. The events in and around the FIJI house attracted more than 50 officers to Locust Walk after one of Sofield's companions allegedly assaulted four police officers. Director of Police Operations Maureen Rush refused to say why Dougherty was terminated. Dougherty did not return repeated phone calls to his home yesterday. An officer who spoke on the condition of anonymity said the termination was "not a surprise" because Dougherty repeatedly came to work and had "general discipline" problems. He had received several verbal and written warnings from superiors and fellow officers, the officer said. "He was a good guy. I liked him," the officer said. "But they had problems with him from day one." FIJI brothers, on the other hand, said they were frustrated with the firing. They claimed that Dougherty, who knew all the brothers in the house at 3619 Locust Walk, was being used as the scapegoat for the bad press University Police received after the brothers accused police officers of brutality in their handling of the incident. After Dougherty cited the three men -- including Warnell Owens, 26, and Sofield's 28-year-old brother, Richard, an assistant U.S. attorney -- for disorderly conduct, Owens and Bill Sofield allegedly fled into the FIJI house. Owens ran out the back door and allegedly assaulted four police officers trying to arrest him before he was forcibly subdued. Fifteen to 20 of the officers who arrived at the scene then entered the house to arrest the younger Sofield. According to several FIJI brothers who witnessed the incident, police used excessive force in Sofield's arrest. But Dougherty, who simply made the first citation, was not one of the five officers students said struck Sofield unnecessarily. Last week, Sofield was acquitted on disorderly conduct and resisting arrest charges. A recent Division of Public Safety investigation of the incident concluded that police officers did not use excessive force when subduing Sofield. "If [Dougherty's firing] had anything to do with the whole [Sofield] incident, it's kind of ridiculous," said FIJI President John Ward, who alleged that Dougherty was an "easy target" for the University to eliminate in an effort to placate the "questions" prompted by the incident. Dougherty was one of 19 officers hired in March 1997 after the Division of Public Safety accelerated its recruiting process following a fall crime wave that included the shooting of a student and the murder of a University biochemist. When University Police officers are hired, they are put on probationary status for a year, during which they are not unionized and can therefore be more easily fired. Rush said she "doesn't anticipate" firing any of the other 18 new officers before their one-year "introductory" period has expired. During the trial, Dougherty cited the fact that he "didn't recognize" the Sofields and Owens as one of the reasons he approached them. A former Philadelphia Housing Authority police officer, Dougherty had a tendency to be confrontational and act as if he was still policing the "projects," the anonymous officer said. Ward, a Wharton senior, disputed this notion, saying Dougherty "did his job real well." His relationship with the FIJI brothers was friendly, never "adversarial, like a lot of the students have had with police this year," Ward added. The Sofields are considering filing a civil suit alleging police brutality in the incident. A trial could settle many of the allegations that have surrounded the case for several months.
(02/05/98 10:00am)
The family has less than two years to decide whether to file a lawsuit against area police forces. Although College freshman Bill Sofield was acquitted last Wednesday of disorderly conduct and resisting arrest charges stemming from an October 30 incident, it is still unclear exactly what happened that night at the Phi Gamma Delta fraternity house on Locust Walk. If the Sofield family files a civil suit against the University alleging police brutality, a trial could once and for all settle the allegations and rumors that have engulfed the University community for months. While Common Pleas Judge James Deleon found the 18-year-old Sofield "not guilty" and said there was no basis for the arrest, an internal University Police investigation concluded that officers acted properly in arresting Sofield and did not use an unnecessary amount of force. The University's conclusion was based on the premise that an intoxicated Sofield was resisting arrest, requiring police to use force in order to handcuff him. But to the Sofields and many FIJI brothers, Sofield's acquittal on charges of resisting arrest raises doubts about whether the police were actually justified in forcefully arresting Sofield. The Sofield family has until October 30, 1999 -- two years after the arrest -- to file a lawsuit. Such a lawsuit would require a considerably longer process than last week's 3 1/2-hour trial. The burden of proof would be on the Sofields, who would have to prove that police officers used excessive force when arresting Bill Sofield. And in order to assess whether the actions of those police officers did not violate Sofield's Fourth Amendment right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures -- in effect, whether police action was reasonable under the circumstances -- the jury must analyze the specific circumstances surrounding the incident. "The standards [for alleging police brutality] are very context-based," said Temple Law Professor David Kairys, a criminal-justice expert. "There's a range of factual issues that would have to be resolved? and the jury would have to look at the totality of the situation." That could be a formidable task. The situation is complicated by the other incidents from the night of October 30. Sofield's companion, 26-year-old Warnell "Yode" Owens, allegedly assaulted four police officers, causing one to suffer major facial injuries. The assault attracted more than 40 police officers to Locust Walk. The incident began when University Police Officer Jeff Dougherty encountered Bill Sofield, his 28-year-old brother, assistant U.S. Attorney Richard Sofield, and Owens outside the fraternity house where they were allegedly arguing loudly. Dougherty cited the three for disorderly conduct, prompting Bill Sofield and Owens to run into the house. As police tried to enter the house to arrest Sofield and Owens, Owens fled through the building's back door, allegedly assaulting the officers. The officers responding to the assaults, who were united only by the knowledge that Sofield was somehow connected to Owens, were from five different forces and had no official supervisor. Many of them were unaware of Sofield's alleged offense. The Sofields would probably argue in a civil suit that the officers' outrage over the assaults, combined with the huge police presence, contributed to an overall lack of restraint among the officers. During the criminal trial, Sofield attorney Walter Phillips likened the officers to "storm troopers," an image the Sofields may stress in a civil suit. But the presence of so many police may also raise complications in any allegations of brutality. During the trial, several FIJI brothers who witnessed the incident were unable to identify most of the officers they accused of beating Sofield. And the large police presence is not necessarily indicative of an intent to use force, according to Robert Hunn, a police-brutality expert. "Police are often of the opinion that there is safety in numbers, especially in situations where drinking is going on," said Hunn, a professor at Temple. Indeed, because drinking was allegedly "going on" inside the FIJI house, police have argued that alcohol is the real culprit in the incident -- an assertion that could aid the police case for several reasons. For one, Bill Sofield, Richard Sofield and Owens have admitted they were drinking for several hours before the incident. Bill Sofield's intoxication could have made it more difficult for police to arrest him, even if his resistance was not significant enough to warrant a conviction on criminal charges. Furthermore, police issued no alcohol-related citations while inside the FIJI house. That could contradict the notion that the officers were making arrests with reckless abandon. The Sofields also face some difficult choices over filing a civil suit. Richard Sofield admitted during the trial that he was "buzzed" and supplied his underage brother with alcohol. Although Phillips maintained that Richard Sofield's career is not an "issue they are considering" in the decision to file, experts said his job as an assistant U.S. attorney could be in jeopardy. In addition, Dougherty testified that the elder Sofield repeatedly yelled obscenities at him and taunted him with his status as an attorney. Because the younger Sofield, who received a concussion in the incident, was not permanently injured, the ends that could be gained in a law suit -- whatever amount the Sofields deem appropriate for Bill's psychological and physical losses -- may not justify the means.
(02/03/98 10:00am)
As police continue their search for the intruder who assaulted a University Health System secretary in the Penn Tower Hotel two weeks ago, many questions remain unanswered about the incident. Police are unsure how the assailant entered the building and assaulted the woman, who was released from the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania last Tuesday. And despite security enhancements, many people who work in the building are still concerned about their safety. As part of plans to accelerate security improvements in the hotel, the University hired a new security director for the building more than a week ago. Allen Cronhein, a former New York City Police officer, will become the Penn Tower's new security director within the next few days after years of working in casinos in Atlantic City, N.J. Former Director Anthony Marziani vacated the position about three weeks before the assault. Many employees working in the building say they have become more cautious since the assault and hope a similar incident will not reoccur. Toby Laiken, 53, the victim of the assault, is resting and gradually regaining strength, according to a source close to the family who requested anonymity. Her husband Jerry, who works for the University's Physical Plant department, has returned to work after two weeks off. Laiken was released January 27 after eight days in HUP, where she underwent surgery for the deep lacerations to the jaw and eye socket she received during the assault. Laiken's colleagues in the sixth-floor Cancer Center office where she works described her "a great, great person" with "amazing" dedication that was exemplified by the fact that she came to the office early every morning. Laiken had just entered her office at about 5:20 a.m. January 19 when an unidentified intruder assaulted her. "It makes you cautious," said a Cancer Center secretary on Laiken's floor. "I never thought this place to be an unsafe place to work, but it makes you think." "I just hope it's a one-time thing," said another employee working at the ground-floor gift store in the building. "We've never had problems before. [I hope] it'll be quiet for a while after this." Police said they believe the suspect is also responsible for two other burglaries and an attempted burglary the same morning on other floors of the building, but they are unsure how the suspect entered the building. After the incident, Health System Security Director Alfred Glogower said his top priority was an immediate upgrade of the building's security. Glogower held meetings designed to allow employees of the Penn Tower and the Health System could voice security concerns and learn self-defense tactics. Also, during the week following the assault, he doubled the amount of security guards on duty. Glogower said he is in the process of hiring permanent security guards to add to the current 12-member force that patrols the building.
(02/03/98 10:00am)
No one was injured during the incident at 40th and Market streets. A man shot at but did not injure two University City District safety ambassadors near campus Sunday afternoon, police said. The safety ambassadors were attempting to quell a dispute between an assailant and a woman at 40th and Market streets at the time of the incident, authorities said. Safety Ambassadors Raymond Blocker, 28, and Darren Graham, 31, were "shook up" by the incident, UCD Executive Director Paul Steinke said. Philadelphia Police are investigating the shooting. Police have not yet arrested the suspect, who police said pulled out a revolver when the two unarmed officials approached him. The man also had two small children with him, according to police. The ambassadors immediately fled from the scene, as they are instructed to do when faced with "trouble," Steinke said. Police were unable to locate the suspect. "It's unbelievable, just unbelievable," Steinke said of the shooting, the first the safety ambassadors have experienced in their five months patrolling University City. The primary duty of the gold-jacketed safety ambassadors is to deter crime and report incidents, acting as extra "eyes and ears" for the police, Steinke explained. Before being assigned to the streets, safety ambassadors attend a four-week training program. "This is the first, and hopefully the last" incident of this kind, Steinke said. He added that the incident has prompted UCD officials to counsel their 41 foot and bicycle patrols to "avoid volatile situations." After the shooting, Blocker and Graham were transported to the Philadelphia Police Department's 18th District headquarters at 55th and Pine streets for questioning. UCD guards report to 18th District officers, perform roll call with them and receive weekly updates about the neighborhood twice every week, a process which Steinke claimed has built a "rapport" between 18th District officers and UCD safety ambassadors. As a result of this relationship, Philadelphia Police officers are handling the investigation rather than Penn Police, although the new Penn Division of Public Safety headquarters on the 4000 block of Chestnut Street is only about a block away from the site of the incident. About 30 safety ambassadors patrol the area from the Schuylkill River to 50th Street and from about Spring Garden Street to Woodland Avenue. They are part of the UCD, whose employees also sweep sidewalks, clean graffiti and may soon provide consulting services to businesses interested in moving to University City. The UCD, created last summer, is funded by area institutions and businesses including Penn, Drexel University, the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy and Science and Amtrak. It currently operates out of a suite at 3508 Market Street and a building on the 100 block of North 34th Street. But the UCD is in search of a more centrally located spot on or close to 40th Street, which would put it close to Penn's new Public Safety headquarters. Steinke said he hopes to have finalized a new location by the start of the fall semester. Steinke considered moving the UCD into the former Public Safety mini-station on the 200 block of South 40th Street. But he said the storefront, which formerly housed Spectaguard security guards, a student-run town watch and other operations, was too small for the UCD. One of the reasons Steinke needs space is that he plans to station several Philadelphia Police officers alongside the safety ambassadors. He added that the police, who would only be bicycle and foot patrols, would perform roll call with the safety ambassadors daily. Ideally, the safety ambassadors and police could share information on crime patterns, he said.
(02/02/98 10:00am)
Residents approve of the new facility's location and are glad Public Safety is in one building. Last Wednesday's gala opening of the new Division of Public Safety headquarters celebrated more than the construction of a high-tech, multi-million dollar facility, as speakers and guests alike stressed that the building symbolizes the University's commitment to its "neighbors" in University City. "This location was not accidental," Executive Vice President John Fry said Wednesday of the headquarters' off-campus location on the 4000 block of Chestnut Street, about three blocks from the old headquarters, a townhouse at 3914 Locust Walk. The new location brings police, Spectaguard security guards, administrative services and Special Services -- which were housed in four separate locations just a year ago -- all under one roof. The theme of "community commitment" showed up in the speeches as well as in the guest list -- which included a multitude of community members, many of whom praised the relocation of the facility. Still, Undergraduate Assembly Chairperson Noah Bilenker said he was skeptical of the move off campus. "I'm still not completely sold," the College junior said. "It is the University Police." The relocation does not change the University Police Department's jurisdiction, deployment or services. The police will still patrol from Market Street to Baltimore Avenue and the Schuylkill River to 43rd Street. But walk by the renovated former warehouse on Chestnut, and it's clear why Director of Police Operations Maureen Rush called it "a visible deterrent to crime." Adorning the building are 3-foot high red letters spelling "POLICE" that illuminate at night. Wednesday, Philadelphia Police Commissioner Richard Neal was effusive in his praise of the move off campus, stressing that the building's new location would improve security throughout West Philadelphia. "[The move is] one more example of how we're trying to develop even greater links," Neal said. "We want folks in the community to get to know the Penn Police." Although University City residents have in the past denounced the presence of the University Police for giving the area a deceptively dangerous image, many community members last week supported the move as one that would deter crime around the periphery of campus. History Department Chairperson Lynn Lees, a longtime West Philadelphia resident who is active in neighborhood issues, said the move was "an extremely sensible thing to do." "The areas where there's been the greatest amount of street crime have been on the fringes of campus," she said. "[The move] should reassure students and the community living in those areas." Spruce Hill Community Association President Joe Ruane said he didn't consider the new location to really be "off-campus" because of its proximity to Penn. But he received "positive feedback from community members" on the building's consolidation of the University's security services. Ruane added that he thought the relocation would mainly help retail development on the 40th Street corridor, as well as the area around 40th and Chestnut streets. And Cynthia Preston, a member of a local town-watch group, lauded the move. But she was reluctant to call it a gesture of goodwill. "Penn is a business," Preston said. "It's not really what the community wants. It's what Penn wants. You have to deal with your surroundings." Preston added that the University Police should expand their jurisdiction further west to improve security throughout the area.
(01/30/98 10:00am)
After College freshman Bill Sofield's acquittal on disorderly conduct and resisting arrest charges, his family is now mulling an option that has always been on the backburner -- a civil suit against the University alleging that police were unnecessarily brutal when they arrested him. On October 30, Sofield, 18, his older brother Richard and their friend Warnell "Yode" Owens were arrested for disorderly conduct outside the Phi Gamma Delta fraternity house on Locust Walk. Owens allegedly assaulted several police officers before he was subdued forcibly, and Bill Sofield was charged with resisting arrest. In the course of the arrest, according to FIJI brothers who witnessed the incident, police unnecessarily beat Bill Sofield after he fled into the fraternity house. The Sofields never filed a formal complaint. But the Division of Public Safety has investigated those allegations. The 1 1/2-month probe concluded that the 15-20 officers who entered the FIJI house to arrest Sofield did not act improperly, because force was necessary in order to handcuff Sofield. On Wednesday, however, Court of Common Pleas Judge James Deleon acquitted Sofield on charges that he resisted arrest, reasoning that what police called "resisting arrest" -- primarily kicking and flailing his arms around -- did not amount to a criminal charge. Because the investigation's rejection of the police brutality allegation was based on the premise that Sofield resisted arrest, the Sofields have acknowledged that they may "take things further" now that Sofield was found not guilty of the charge. In November, when the FIJI eyewitnesses first came forth with their allegations, a source close to the Sofield family said while they would not rule out anything, their first priority was to "take care of the criminal charges" and they would not make any formal complaints until then. Now, with the charges cleared, a civil suit is a likely possibility. The Sofields' lawyer, Walter Phillips, has already written a letter to the University blasting the findings of the investigation. "I pointed out what I thought were major flaws and deficiencies in that investigation," Phillips said yesterday. "The campus police just completely rejected what the [FIJI brothers] had to say." But yesterday, Deleon said that while he thought Bill Sofield "was not truly the culprit," a civil case could hurt the family because of the actions of Richard Sofield. "If anyone had a problem, it was [Bill's] brother," Deleon said. "He was just drunk? and if his father wants to keep on pressing this, he's got to look at what his older son did." Unlike his two companions, Richard Sofield did not leave the scene and allowed University Police Officer Jeff Dougherty to handcuff him and arrest him. But Dougherty testified that Sofield was also belligerent and used his status as an assistant U.S. attorney to taunt the officer. Although Sofield denied making such remarks, two FIJI brothers testified that he was "visibly intoxicated" and the fact that he supplied his underage brother with a great deal of alcohol during the evening could potentially mar his career if it is further publicized. Little information about the incident came out during Bill Sofield's non-jury criminal trial, which lasted only 3 1/2 hours. "You know, he's an attorney and he took his younger sibling around with him and they were drinking at every place, margaritas and Jagermeister, and then they went back to the [FIJI] house and had 40s," said Deleon. "That's not going to look good." Managing Director of Public Safety Tom Seamon said that even though Deleon acquitted Sofield, he still believed the freshman had resisted arrest and that the charges were proper. "The district attorney agreed with us," Seamon said in reference to a preliminary hearing where Sofield's charges were upheld. "We were disappointed with the ruling, but I still don't believe that changes the facts of anything that happened that night," Seamon said.
(01/29/98 10:00am)
College freshman Bill Sofield was found "not guilty" of disorderly conduct and resisting arrest in an October incident. After a 3 1/2-hour trial yesterday, Philadelphia Common Pleas Judge James Dillion acquitted College freshman Bill Sofield of disorderly conduct and resisting arrest charges stemming from an October 30 incident. Sofield, 18, was one of three men that University and Philadelphia police arrested in an incident that allegedly began with an argument outside the Phi Gamma Delta house and -- after one of the men allegedly assaulted four police officers -- quickly attracted more than 40 police officers from five area forces to the scene that night. "This man shouldn't be here," Dillion concluded in a verdict that brought applause from eight FIJI brothers. Sofield, who was arrested in the FIJI fraternity house at 3619 Locust Walk, has alleged -- along with several FIJI brothers -- that he was unnecessarily beaten by police officers after they entered the fraternity house to arrest him. Although a 1 1/2-month University Police investigation concluded in December that the police officers did not use excessive force when arresting Sofield, his family said yesterday that they have not ruled out filing a civil suit against the officers. University Police Det. Commander Tom King stressed that the investigation and the trial focused on "two separate issues." "Just because there was reasonable doubt [as to Sofield's guilt] does not mean that there was police misconduct," King said. Sofield's father, Thomas Sofield of Long Beach, N.Y., said that although he had "complete faith" in the criminal justice system, the investigation's findings were dubious. "I'm really disappointed at the way this situation was handled by the police department and the University," said the elder Sofield, a police officer for 20 years. "I would have expected more of a university of this stature." One of Sofield's companions allegedly assaulted four police officers in the incident, leading to the huge police presence. Sofield's attorney Walter Phillips suggested in court that his client's arrest was more the result of police outrage than Sofield's behavior. The incident began after an evening of drinking and socializing at two restaurants and the FIJI house, when Sofield and his older brother Richard, 28, stood with Richard's friend Warnell "Yode" Owens, 27, outside the house. Between 10 p.m. and 10:30 p.m., University Police Officer John Daugherty approached the men. In his testimony, Daugherty said the men were arguing, cursing loudly and visibly drunk. Bill Sofield's shirt, he said, was wet and he smelled of "beer or some malt beverage." Daugherty told the judge that he had never seen any of the men before, and that they refused to show identification or tell him where they lived. After arresting Richard Sofield for disorderly conduct, both Owens and Bill Sofield fled into the FIJI house, according to Daugherty. Owens, a 6'2", 250-pound former Harvard University football player, then left the house through a back door and allegedly assaulted four officers in three separate incidents between the rear of the fraternity house and the intersection of 36th and Walnut streets. More than 40 officers had arrived by the time Owens was subdued. Between 15 and 20 then entered the FIJI house in search of Bill Sofield, witnesses said. Three FIJI brothers who witnessed the incident testified that Sofield did nothing to resist arrest once officers found him in the house. Although Sofield did not testify, two University Police officers contradicted the FIJI brothers' testimony, saying Sofield flailed his arms and resisted officers' efforts to handcuff him. In his brief explanation of the acquittal, the judge said that Sofield's alleged actions throughout the incident did not amount to disorderly conduct or resisting arrest.
(01/28/98 10:00am)
A freshman charged with disorderly conduct and resisting arrest will plead 'not guilty' today. A College freshman arrested last October for disorderly conduct and resisting arrest will have his day in court today. Bill Sofield, 18, was arrested following a string of bloody assaults that attracted about 60 police officers to the Phi Gamma Delta house and sent four University Police officers and a former Harvard University football player to the hospital. Sofield was not involved in any of the assaults on police officers. Sofield, who later accused police officers of beating him, is expected to plead not guilty to the charges during the trial, which begins at 9 a.m. in Room 1003 of the Criminal Justice Center at 13th and Filbert streets. Walter Phillips, Sofield's attorney, could not be reached for comment yesterday. A 1 1/2-month investigation conducted by the University found that police officers did not use excessive force when arresting him. The incident began late at night October 30 when a University Police officer approached Sofield and two companions: his brother Richard, 28, and their friend Warnell "Yode" Owens, 27. The men were allegedly intoxicated and cursing loudly outside the FIJI house at 3619 Locust Walk when the officer approached them. When Richard Sofield, an assistant U.S. attorney, was cited for disorderly conduct, both Owens and Bill Sofield allegedly fled into the house. Once inside, Owens fled through the house's back door, while Sofield remained inside. In the alley behind the fraternity house, Owens, a 6'2" 250-pound former college football player, allegedly attacked two police officers who tried to arrest him. Police said he then assaulted two other officers in two separate incidents between the back of the house and the intersection of 36th and Walnut streets. Owens was arrested and charged with aggravated assault. All of the charges against him were upheld at a hearing December 8, although no trial date has been set. Richard Sofield, who did not resist arrest, attended a Disorderly Conduct Alternative Program in the Center City Conference Center November 15 in exchange for the charge against him being dropped. Owens' alleged assault against the officers attracted throngs of police officers from at least four different forces to the crime scene. About 20 of them focused on arresting Sofield, who was inside the FIJI house. Their subsequent conduct prompted Sofield and several FIJI brothers who were eyewitnesses to the incident to accuse Philadelphia and University police officers of needlessly beating him unconscious. According to the accounts of nine FIJI brothers, Sofield did not resist arrest as the officers beat him ruthlessly and taunted others in the house. The investigation conducted in response to the accusations concluded that no officers had acted improperly. Results of the investigation were released last month. Sofield's family never filed an official complaint against the police. According to police, Sofield was extremely drunk. His resistance required officers to strike him several times before they could handcuff him, police said. Det. Commander Tom King said last month that Sofield suffered two black eyes and several welts on other parts of his body. But a nurse who examined Sofield the night of the incident determined that not only did he not require medical attention, but that he was too drunk at the time he arrived at the hospital to receive it properly anyway, King said. Phillips and FIJI President John Ward, a Wharton senior, have both have disputed the report's findings. Ward, who declined to comment yesterday, said in December that he deemed the investigation "questionable" since it was conducted by the same organizations it was investigating. Phillips also has denied that his client was drunk.
(01/26/98 10:00am)
A one-alarm chemical fire behind the Quadrangle last night forced the temporary evacuation of all of the buildings on Hamilton Walk, police said. No one was injured in the incident. The blaze attracted hordes of firefighters and Hazardous Materials trucks but few student spectators, since it occurred in a chemistry laboratory in the southernmost section of campus. The fire began at approximately 7:15 p.m. in Room 415 of the Anatomy-Chemistry Building on Guardian Drive near Leidy Laboratories and the Veterans Affairs Hospital. All buildings on Hamilton Walk were then temporarily evacuated. The causes of the fire, which was reported to police at 7:22 p.m. by onlookers who saw smoke, were unknown as of 10:45 p.m. last night, according to University Police Sgt. Joseph Risoli. Risoli said the fire was "not suspicious." Risoli estimated that five rooms on the fourth floor suffered damage, although Room 415 was the only one severely damaged by the blaze. Nearby rooms were damaged primarily by smoke as well as by the firefighters and Fire Department hazardous material teams, who used water to extinguish the flames and broke windows to ventilate the building.
(01/26/98 10:00am)
The ghastly evidence of a drowsy driver's late-night ride gone wrong dismayed and fascinated passersby on the 3600 block of Chestnut Street yesterday. Police refused to provide information on the driver, including details on injuries he received during the accident. A sky-blue Toyota Camry with its hood amputated and its airbags inflated still blocked the sidewalk last night, marking the place where the man swerved and hit three parked cars before ramming into a stone wall early yesterday morning, according to police. A maroon Nissan hit by the Camry remained in the parking lane balanced on its left side nearby. Dried blood and a fallen parking sign also remained on the street. Police found the driver after he swerved into a stone wall on the north side of Chestnut Street at about 3:24 a.m., University Police Sgt. Joseph Risoli said. Police would only reveal that the man was unaffiliated with the University. It appeared that the man had fallen asleep at the wheel, Risoli said. Philadelphia Police officers who were marking the scene yesterday afternoon indicated that the Camry was stolen. But Risoli said University Police had no record of such information. And although both University and Philadelphia police said the Philadelphia Fire Rescue Squad had rushed the man to the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, nursing supervisor Nancy Dodd said HUP had no record of an accident victim being admitted to the hospital in the early morning hours. In an unrelated incident Friday morning, a University student was injured after being hit by a car on the 3400 block of Spruce Street. After being taken to HUP, the student was reported in good condition. University Police had no further information on the victim, who was one of two people injured by moving vehicles on campus Friday. An individual unaffiliated with the University was struck by a Southeastern Pennsylvania Transit Authority bus on the 3700 block of Spruce Street at about 11:15 a.m.
(01/23/98 10:00am)
As part of plans to accelerate security improvements in the Penn Tower Hotel since a University Health System secretary was brutally assaulted Monday, the University has hired a new security director for the building and revamped the facility's telephone system so callers can dial security directly. Philadelphia resident Toby Laiken, 53, suffered serious head injuries after being assaulted by an intruder to her office shortly after she arrived at work at around 5:15 a.m. Police are searching for the assailant. Laiken, who underwent surgery to the lower jaw on Wednesday, remains in satisfactory condition at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. In response to the beating, the University is overhauling the building's telephone system so that dialing "0" automatically connects the caller to Penn Tower security. When Laiken had dialed "0" to call for help after being assaulted, by contrast, she reached an operator at HUP, who then transferred her to Health System security, Health System spokesperson Rebecca Harmon said. From there, a Health System security operator transferred Laiken to her husband, a Physical Plant employee working in the Franklin Building Annex at 36th and Sansom streets. Meanwhile, the operator called Penn Tower security for Laiken, Harmon said. Penn Tower security guards found Laiken "within minutes" of their notification, Harmon said. Police officers arrived at about 6:15 a.m. Currently, three separate telephone systems exist within the one building: the hotel's, the Health System's and the University's. Although the three are connected to each other, an individual dialing abbreviated extensions -- like "0" for operator -- may reach different places depending on the phone's location. By next week, dialing "0" from any phone in the building will connect the caller to Penn Tower security. The building's new security director, who Harmon would not name, is female and will begin work February 1. Former Security Director Anthony Marziani left his position about three weeks ago, Harmon said. Since then, Health System Security Director Alfred Glogower has been responsible for security in the building. Harmon said officials have been "aggressively recruiting" a replacement for Marziani since the incident. In addition, plans to "beef up" security in the building will extend to the parking garage, as more guards with "increased visibility" will patrol the five-story enclosed lot, she said. Although police do not believe that security in the garage played a direct role in Monday's incidents -- which also included two burglaries -- the lot has been the site of the most crime of any area in the building during the last six months. During that time, police records show that 23 thefts from vehicles and one auto theft were reported. In the same period, seven thefts were reported from inside the building itself.
(01/22/98 10:00am)
Toby Laiken, 53, is expected to make a full recovery after being assaulted in her office in the Penn Tower Hotel. Police continue to search for the individual who assaulted and severely injured a Health System employee in her Penn Tower Hotel office Monday morning. Philadelphia resident Toby Laiken, 53, who was admitted to the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania slightly before 7 a.m. Monday in serious condition, remained in satisfactory condition yesterday after undergoing surgery to the lower jaw. Laiken is expected to make a full recovery and has regained consciousness since the assault, authorities said. But the victim has not yet been able to elaborate on the details of the crime, University Health System spokesperson Rebecca Harmon said. Currently, six detectives from the Philadelphia Police and University Police departments are exclusively investigating this incident, with four other officers assisting, University Police Det. Commander Tom King said. During the incident, which occurred between 5:15 a.m. and 5:35 a.m. Monday, Laiken received several lacerations to the head and was only semi-conscious when police found her at her desk in the Cancer Center office on the building's sixth floor. Police believe Laiken's assailant is responsible for burglaries on the fourth and eighth floors and an attempted burglary on the seventh floor that were reported the same morning as her assault. Although the incident itself was not videotaped, detectives are reviewing footage from Penn Tower surveillance cameras to find clues that may lead to a suspect. Police are still unsure how the suspect entered the building, as all entrances except the main one are locked between 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. Since the incident occurred, officials have stepped up security in the building and accelerated plans to replace former Security Director Anthony Marziani. Also, the Health System held three "safety sessions" Tuesday and one yesterday for Penn Tower and Health System employees to allow them to voice concerns and learn ways to protect themselves. The assault was an unusual incident for the facility. According to the list of crimes in the University Police log book, crime in the Penn Tower and its adjoining parking garage has in recent months been limited to thefts. Since June 21, 31 thefts -- including one auto theft and 23 thefts from vehicles -- have been reported to University Police. King, who is not directly involved with Penn Tower security, said the building is "relatively crime-free." "I see [the assault] as an aberration," King said. Health System Security Director Alfred Glogower, who is currently responsible for security inside the Penn Tower, did not respond to repeated phone calls this week.
(01/21/98 10:00am)
Police are still searching for the person they believe committed the assault, which injured a 53-year old Penn employee. University Health System officials attempted to allay employees' concerns over lax security inside the Penn Tower Hotel yesterday as they organized a series of safety workshops and announced plans to increase protection in the area "immediately." The fears were touched off by the Monday morning assault of a Health System employee inside her sixth-floor office. Toby Laiken, 53, of the 1800 block of Carwithan Street, was assaulted by an intruder at about 5:30 a.m., shortly after arriving for work, according to police. Laiken was admitted to HUP in serious condition between 6 a.m. and 7 a.m. Monday. Her condition improved yesterday to satisfactory. Three "safety sessions" -- held exclusively for employees based in the Penn Tower -- were part of what Health System spokesperson Rebecca Harmon described as an "across the board" security initiative being launched by the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania and Penn Tower security in response to the incident. In a letter to employees based in the Penn Tower -- which is operated by the Health System and contains both office space and hotel rooms -- Health System Chief Executive Officer William Kelley said he instructed the security force to "increase security measures immediately" and include "additional guards at strategic locations." Harmon said she did not know how many additional guards would be hired. The Penn Tower's security force, which currently consists of 12 guards, has lacked a director since former-Security Director Anthony Marziani left last semester. Although Health System Security Director Alfred Glogower is currently responsible for Penn Tower security guards, Harmon said the Health System will recruit a new full-time director as part of its response to the assault. Neither Glogower nor Marziani could be reached for comment yesterday. Employees said they were not allowed to comment on the meetings. Harmon explained that the Health System wants "one designated spokesperson issuing response" to the issue. Today, safety sessions will be conducted for Health Systems employees not based in the Penn Tower. "We all have to take personal responsibility," Harmon said, adding that employees should use the "buddy system" and Penn Shuttle services provided by the University as precautionary practices. Police are unsure how the intruder entered the Penn Tower. Also, police believe the suspect is responsible for two other burglaries and an attempted burglary on other floors of the building. All doors except the main entrance on the ground floor of the facility are locked between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m., and security guards patrol the building 24 hours a day. University Police Det. Commander Tom King said the fact that employees who work at the Penn Tower "come in at all hours" and "stay at all hours? makes for a very difficult security scenario." But King added that the best way the University Police force could reassure Health System employees would be to arrest a suspect in connection with the incidents. King said there was no video of the alleged assault, although he confirmed reports that police are reviewing surveillance videos from designated areas of the Penn Tower. The assault comes less than three weeks after Sam Jeantel, 31, of the 1600 block of Roumfort Road was fatally shot about a block south of the building on the 3400 block of Civic Center Boulevard. Philadelphia Police homicide detectives are still investigating the incident, which occurred shortly after midnight on December 31.
(01/20/98 10:00am)
University Police believe the woman was attacked by the same person who burglarized the building yesterday. Police found a 54-year-old woman semi-conscious and bleeding heavily from her head while sitting at her desk in her sixth-floor Penn Tower Hotel office yesterday morning, police said. According to University Police Det. Commander Tom King, police believe the assault is linked to two other burglaries and an attempted burglary on other floors of the building between 7 a.m. and 9 a.m. yesterday. The woman suffered multiple lacerations to her face and injuries to her eye socket and jaw, police said. As of late last night, she remained in fair but stable condition at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. The incident raises questions about the level of security in the building, located on the 300 block of South 34th Street. Break-ins have been a frequent problem in its parking garage. Police are not sure how the intruder entered the hotel, although it is possible that the individual came through the service elevator or the fire escape, King said. The Penn Tower Hotel, which is operated by the Penn Health System, employs 12 security guards who report to the hotel's general manager and the Health System's security director, according to Health System spokesperson Rebecca Harmon. "[The force is] quite adequate and comparable to that of any hotel this size," Harmon said. The incident began early yesterday morning when the woman -- whose name was not released -- called her husband, also a University employee, to tell him that an intruder assaulted her in her Cancer Center office, police said. Police officers arrived at about 6:15 a.m., and a Philadelphia Fire Department vehicle transported the victim across the street to HUP, where she was admitted in stable but serious condition. By yesterday afternoon her condition had improved from serious to fair. Two other burglaries were reported yesterday morning on the fourth and eighth floors, according to police. On the seventh floor, a piece of locking equipment showed evidence of tampering, King said. Although police are not sure if anything was taken, offices on the two burglarized floors were ransacked, King said. According to a HUP employee close to the situation, the woman's husband -- who initially failed to recognize her voice because she sounded "disoriented" -- called 911 at 5:42 a.m. and promptly left his office in the Franklin Building Annex at 36th and Sansom streets to go to the Penn Tower Hotel. It is unclear when either Penn Tower Hotel security guards or police officers arrived on the scene. The victim's husband told the employee, who requested anonymity, that no one was at his wife's office by the time he arrived, the employee said. University Police logged their official response at 6:11 a.m., 29 minutes after the source said the victim's husband called 911. The HUP employee, who said he was at the scene "very early in the morning," stressed that he was concerned that a "lack of diligence and responsiveness" prevented the woman from receiving timely medical attention. "There were more suits than there were doctors," he said, adding that he thought too many people were "scurrying around to find answers" before admitting the woman to HUP. The couple have worked for the University for many years and "deserve better," the source said. King refused to elaborate on the medical response to the incident.
(01/19/98 10:00am)
Frederica Massiah-Jackson could be the city's first black woman to sit on the U.S. District Court. No one ever said "making history" was a speedy process. But 1974 Law alumna Frederica Massiah-Jackson, 47, probably didn't expect her nomination to the federal bench to lag this long. If confirmed, she would be the first black woman to serve on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. The issue: whether Massiah-Jackson is an "activist judge" who tends to ignore the law for the sake of an agenda. According to her opponents, Jackson's agenda is one that favors defendants and snubs the prosecution -- particularly in cases involving drugs. Because of the accusations, Massiah-Jackson, who was nominated in early August, must wait until January 28 -- or maybe even longer -- for the Senate to vote. "She is highly qualified," said Penn Law Professor David Rudovsky, who specializes in criminal procedure and civil rights law. He said the issue has "much less to do with race? and more to do with a policy and attitude in the D.A.'s office that justice is done when the prosecution wins." Philadelphia District Attorney Lynne Abraham, who was re-elected to her post in November largely due to her "tough-on-crime" reputation, vehemently opposes Massiah-Jackson's nomination, as does the executive committee of the Pennsylvania District Attorneys Association. In a recent letter to Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., Abraham cited Massiah-Jackson's "leniency towards criminals" and "deeply ingrained and pervasive bias against the prosecution" as reasons to vote against the judge's confirmation. Although Specter himself supports the nomination, the senior Judiciary Committee member will meet next week with nomination opponents to discuss whether to further delay the Senate vote so the committee can investigate the accusations. That could entail holding another public hearing in Washington -- the last and only one was in October -- to decide whether Massiah-Jackson is unfit for the lifetime appointment. Further proving that politics makes strange bedfellows, Sen. Strom Thurmond, R-S.C., a conservative Judiciary member, holds the same view of Massiah-Jackson as Abraham, a Democrat who is widely thought to have mayoral aspirations. On the other side: Specter, Majority Leader Trent Lott, R-Miss., the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and Philadelphia Mayor Ed Rendell, a Democrat. But determining whether Massiah-Jackson is a fair judge is no easy task. In her 14 years on the Philadelphia Common Pleas Court -- a branch of the state court system -- she has heard more than 4,000 cases. Only 14 of those rulings, her advocates point out, have been reversed. Though some speculate that Abraham waited until she was safely elected to voice her opposition, she was not the first to voice doubt over Massiah-Jackson's record. In September, shortly after Massiah-Jackson was nominated, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairperson Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, began investigating reports of Massiah-Jackson's alleged anti-prosecution bias and leniency toward criminals. In a 1985 incident, for instance, she told a prosecutor to "shut the fuck up." In another incident, Massiah-Jackson acquitted a drug dealer accused of possessing $400,000 worth of cocaine. She also blew the whistle on the practices of undercover narcotics police, incensing "tough-on-crime" advocates. But Specter was not convinced. Massiah-Jackson's seat on the federal bench should be confirmed because she has acted fairly, he said. The controversy has swirled with accusations of racism. The NAACP described Abraham's opposition as "political treachery" rooted in racism, while the Philadelphia Judicial Council, an association of area minority judges, called it an "affront to the African-American legal community." And when Abraham was sworn in as district attorney, the seven black judges scheduled to be sworn in at the same time were all no-shows, presumably participating in a NAACP boycott of the ceremony. But Rudovsky said Abraham's opposition to Massiah-Jackson is less the product of racism than of the district attorney's protectionism of police. He said Massiah-Jackson and so-called "activist judges" are being treated as scapegoats for the city's crime rates, which have not seen the dramatic reductions that most large American cities have felt in recent years. State Sen.Vincent Hughes, a Democrat representing West Philadelphia, said "[Massiah-Jackson] deserves to be making history." But District Attorney's Office spokesperson Bill Duvall said neither Abraham nor the District Attorneys Association was the issue. "I'm really upset that everyone's choosing sides," he said. "The issue is [Massiah-Jackson's] record. If you're going to choose an African American woman, why do you have to choose this one?"
(01/14/98 10:00am)
The former warehouse at 4040 Chestnut Street now houses all Division of Public Safety operations. Construction workers put up the 3-foot-high letters Sunday, from the initial "P" to the final "E." Spelling out "POLICE," the sign completes the recent transformation of a blue, nondescript former warehouse on the 4000 block of Chestnut Street into a colossal headquarters for hundreds of University Police officers, security guards, administrators, counselors and technicians. When the letters -- which broke during shipment and are protected by black plastic bags -- finally light up for the official opening of the new, $3.5 million Division of Public Safety headquarters at a yet-to-be-determined date, they will highlight one of Managing Director of Public Safety Tom Seamon's long-standing goals: the consolidation of all campus security operations. Just one year ago, Public Safety operations were housed in four separate locations: a 19th-century townhouse in Superblock, a one-story brick annex behind it, a building on the 3900 block of Walnut Street and an office in Graduate Tower B at 37th and Chestnut streets. The new, technologically advanced station will replace the three current locations -- the townhouse at 3914 Locust Walk, the annex and the mini-station on the 200 block of South 40th Street, which officially opened last January and will now house the offices of the University City special services district. The consolidation was one of Seamon's top goals when he released his 40-page master plan for campus security in March 1996. The new station cost $1 million to purchase and an estimated $2.5 million to renovate. Director of Police Operations Maureen Rush explained that the new facility will benefit both the University and the surrounding area, primarily because the area around 40th and Chestnut streets generally sees more crime than Superblock. A new police station in that location, then, is likely to be a deterrent to criminals, she added. "It doesn't take long for people to know that there's a police station [on the block]," Rush said. "It stretches us out on a wholesale level." She predicted that the station's presence would make student housing in the surrounding area more appealing. Many students already live in row houses on the 4000 block of Sansom Street, behind the new station. The consolidation of services is convenient for employees and non-employees alike, Rush said. "Internally, the communication [among departments] will be wide open," she said. "So if you have a question, you can just pop into someone's office or jump on the intercom, as opposed to walking four blocks. And that spells better services." The facility allows for what Rush calls "one-stop shopping," as crimes can be reported at the front desk, detectives can ask questions down the hall and Special Services can offer victim support across the corridor. Additionally, the new station will be far more technologically advanced than the quaint building on Locust Walk that had previously housed the police station and several administrative offices. A high-speed computer network will soon link all of the offices in the new building. But the facility already has a state-of-the-art coffee machine equipped to make hot chocolate and cafe mocha and brew three strengths of coffee -- making a mockery of the solitary pot of joe that sits in the lobby of the old townhouse. There is a workout room, a suite for Spectaguard security guards and generous space for Penn Watch, the University's student-run town watch group. But several University police officers said they would miss being in the center of campus, surrounded by a sea of students. "I'll miss looking out my window and seeing the campus and students," said Det. Commander Tom King, whose new office is windowless. The new station will not include a mini-station for the Philadelphia Police Department, as originally planned, because the addition of the University City District Safety Ambassadors eliminated the need for them, Rush said. The PPD mini-station nearest to campus is at 44th and Walnut streets.
