C/I Anthony Boyle accused of battering Capt. Laverne Vann

It has been reported that Chief Inspector Anthony Boyle allegedly assaulted Captain Laverne Vann.  The incident allegedly occurred over the arrest of a white female.  As of this writing, Vann is en-route to the hospital.

Our headline shows the ridiculous “versus” because it is ridiculous.  Vann was allegedly assaulted by Boyle.  Vann is a woman, Boyle is a man.  Both are police supervisors.  The alleged assault was witnessed by police officers on the scene.  Did any male officers intervene?  Who stopped the assault?  Where did Boyle flee after the battery?  Was there a scene held?

Witnesses said Boyle had his “Irish up” because he has not been pleased about the lawsuit and has been pissed with Vann and another female supervisor, Staff Inspector Debra Frazier.

Vann and three other police officers recently filed a lawsuit against Boyle and Inspector Ray Evers.  The lawsuit alleges retaliation against the officers for refusing to follow illegal orders and discrimination based on race and creating a hostile work environment.

Chief Inspector Boyle allegedly assaulted Vann and physically obstructed her from making the arrest.  This has to be the ultimate form of retaliation.

Boyle who has 42 years with the Philadelphia Police Department and retired with 35 years of service with the United States Air Force, should know better.  Boyle’s most recent dereliction of duty may be the climax in an increasingly hostile environment.

As a Chief, we hold our superior officers, actually, to a higher standard of accountability and self-discipline.  If it is proven Boyle assaulted Captain Vann, he should be criminally charged.

Policing, like the military are old institutions and the more things change the more they stay the same.  The fact is that this abhorrent behavior cannot be tolerated.  Especially in this #MeToo movement environment.  Enough is enough.

Americans are more divided than ever, gridlocked over social issues, race and gender.  Many people are anxious about how divided the country is and cops worry about its impact on policing.  When it becomes acceptable for a man, who happens to be a white man, to commit an unlawful touching (battery) on a woman, who happens to be a black woman, the issue grows exponentially.

This illuminates the fact that Captain Jerry Levins got away with physically assaulting then Police Officer Theresa Brooks.  The charges against him miraculously disappeared.  Sure, he was forced to retire, but he suffered no real consequence.  Meanwhile, Corporal Brooks has to live with the memory and reality that she was assaulted by a man, who suffered no punishment.

This should not be allowed to occur again with Captain Vann.  There should be an independent investigation of the altercation.  And truth be told, with 42 years with the department, Boyle is working for free at this point in his career.  Even if he does “retire” with 100% of his current salary, he must be held accountable for his lack of self-discipline and criminal conduct.

Boyle showed poor judgment and a lack of leadership skills when he decided that it appropriate to physically touch Vann in any manner.  The larger issue is that he did so, like Captain Levins, because they lack respect and tend to objectify women (or people) of color.

Can you imagine the outrage if Deputy Commissioner Myron Patterson physically assaulted a female officer, much less a white female officer.  The FOP would be calling for the guillotine.

We’re certain the Guardian Civic League will get involved in this one.  The question becomes, where will the Fraternal Order of Police and John McNesby stand on this one?  This case is another argument why the union for various ranks should be separate as they are in New York.

Let’s see what Larry Krasners’ office does with this one.

What New Promotee Javier Rodriguez in PPD has In Common with Cops Arrested In Corruption Scandal in BPD:

Then Sergeant Javier Rodriguez, was assigned to the Narcotics Field Unit.  Corporal Reinaldo Peluzzo was also assigned to the Narcotics Field Unit.

While Peluzzo was in Florida, sunning and funning, he was supposed to be running and gunning, at least according to the Philadelphia Police Department’s Daily Attendance Record or (DARS).

Apparently, in the Narcotics Field Unit (NFU), it’s alright if the taxpayers pay cops who aren’t working.  Moreover; they get overtime.  This is the game now-Lieutenant Javier Rodriguez and Corporal Reinaldo Peluzzo were playing.  Stealing was apparently alright.  They were disciplined and both were suspended.

Javier Rodriguez was kicked out of NFU and put in the 25th District.  Peluzzo was kicked out of NFU and put in the 15th.  But apparently, stealing from taxpayers is okay for some people.  Instead of getting charged with a crime, they both received days.  It should be noted that Javier Rodriguez has a wife, Maria Ortiz Rodriguez who was in Internal Affairs.

Seven Baltimore Police Department Officers were arrested yesterday by the US Attoney’s office for everything from robbing citizens, to stealing overtime and falsifying timesheets. Sound familiar?  These officers were arrested.

According to CNN,  “The arrested Baltimore Police Officers are accused of engaging in “large-scale time and attendance fraud.  In one instance, one of the officers was paid overtime when he was actually on vacation with his family in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, according to the indictment.  The arrested officers are accused of engaging in “large-scale time and attendance fraud.”  Where were the supervisors?  In the case of Philadelphia’s famous six, who were later acquitted, that was a question that was never presented at the time.  Philly Cops Acquitted

Stealing overtime and falsifying timesheets has been done ad nauseam, in the PPD.  The entire squad in Philadelphia’s Vice Squad was caught doing the same thing.  Their punishment, including their illustrious leader, at the time then- Lieutenant Charles Green, they simply had to pay the money back from their pensions when they retire.  What happened to Charles Green, he was continually promoted.

Detective Kenneth Rossiter was accused of the same thing.  Rossiter wasn’t charged with a crime, he was terminated.  The FOP won his job back in arbitration.  According to the Philadelphia Daily News, “The details of Rossiter’s alleged swindle are scant. Internal affairs supervisors declined to release their findings, saying the complaint that prompted the investigation is presumed to have originated internally, and internal complaints aren’t public. McNesby said that even he hasn’t seen the internal affairs report.  But several police sources said internal affairs investigators repeatedly observed Rossiter returning to his home and staying there for hours when he supposedly was in court. Investigators erected a camera near his white-brick and stucco home, and the camera caught Rossiter at home multiple times when he was officially checked in to court, the sources say.”

The paper further stated “Rossiter, reached Sunday, said the thin file he saw on the case contained no video or photographic evidence and alleged that he stole $1,226. He denied the allegations, saying working homicide is a 24-hour job that often has him working at home. Politics fueled the charges against him, he said, although he declined to discuss specifics.”  Rossiter is back on the job.  Rossiter wins back job and loses lawsuit

Does this sound familiar?  If it does, that is because promotee Javier Rodriguez, who will slated to make the rank of Captain, engaged in the same behavior as reported by Secret Society previously.

What’s even more incredible, if rumors are true, is that Chief Inspector Christopher Flacco, has allegedly made a “guest” appearance to speak to the promotees, in which he engaged in a profanity laced tirade, about what would happen if he found anyone engaging in misconduct in their new positions.  The goal of reminding officers of their duty to maintain their integrity and preserve the pride of the department is a great mission.  However; it rings hollow when you have in your midst, the likes of Javier Rodriguez.

Rodriguez was disciplined.  As well as Corporal Peluzzo, who like the cops in Baltimore, was actually on vacation while being paid and receiving overtime.

Joining Rodriguez in being promoted to the rank of Captain is Greg Riley, who was also a previous subject of Secret Society.  Riley, who was demoted because of his lie and cover-up, was actually assigned back to Internal Affairs as part of his “punishment” after he was demoted.  Does anyone see anything wrong with this?  sgt_gregrileydemotionarbitration

Another promotee, Captain Joseph Bologna’s entire squad was accused of wrong doing. When everyone was snatched off the street, Bologna remained on the street.   That squad was the subject of a pulitzer prize winning series in the Philadelphia Daily News, Tainted Justice.  Cops In Tainted Justice Disciplined.  Bologna was disciplined for failure to supervise.  He was a Sergeant.  Bologna was promoted through the ranks without a hitch.  Bologna never had to worry about being interrogated during his pre-promotional interviews.

Meanwhile, other promotees reportedly were interrogated about their alleged misdeeds, with one promotee, Police Officer Theresa Brooks, originally, was a no-show during the first part of class.  Rumor has it that Officer Brooks was going to be denied her promotion. The rumor permeated after Brooks received a unique brand of notification.  Resident Serial Sexual Accused, Chief Inspector Carl Holmes, went to the District to personally attempt to humiliate and berate Officer Brooks.  No one can ever remember anything like this happening before.  Holmes Sued For Multiple Sexual Misconduct Allegations

Chief Inspector Carl Holmes, who was the subject of several lawsuits for sexual harassment, including two allegations of him “digitally penetrating” female officers is probably the last supervisor who should be interacting with female officers.  Maybe the PPD simply loves to payout in lawsuits.  Philly Female Cops Suit OK

Brooks, who was allegedly a whistleblower while she was assigned to the Narcotics Unit, Brooks Whistleblower Lawsuit Alleging Theft In Narcotics Unit, and who has sued the department on several occasions for their retaliatory tactics, was the same officer who had a cell phone snatched out of her hands and was assaulted by now-retired Captain Gerard Levins.

That was a story that went viral thoughout the department.  Levins, who enjoyed a life of leisure in Internal Affairs, subsequently retired, as opposed to facing assault and robbery charges in reference to Brooks.

Levins retired within days of the attack.   However;  the outrageous behavior of the Captain was scaled back.  Yet the depositions reveal just how horrific this attack turned out.  In the  Pennsylvania Relations Board opinion, the board opined, “Levins’s thoughtless, indeed, provocative act of snatching Brooks’s cell phone from her hand, albeit while she was trying to call the Union, was not a refusal to allow Brooks Union representation in violation of Weingarten”.  The board further held that “How the phone was taken from Brooks by Levins, and who-pushed-whom may have been a matter for further police investigation”.  Of course, there was no further investigation.  This was more than a thoughtless provocative act, it was a criminal act.

The board also wrote in their opinion, “The fact that Brooks and Levins shared such overwhelming animosity that they were reduced to simply screaming at each other over” which eventually got physical.

Maybe Levins animosity came from the fact that his brother, Thomas Levins, worked in the Narcotics Strike Force and Narcotics Field Unit.  The same units in which Officer Brooks reported corruption.  Female Cop Reports Theft and Harassment In Narcotics  Levin’s brother Thomas, was married to then-Captain Theresa Levins, who also worked in Internal Affairs.  Maybe that’s where the “animosity” came from.

It should be noted that witnesses to Levins attack on Brooks reported that he will never, ever attack another female cop again.  Especially one with the reputation of Officer Brooks who is known to not back down from a fight.

Sources reported that Levins was in the Preliminary Arraignment System for a litany of charges involving the incident.  However; the PARS report “magically” disappeared from the system shortly after Levin’s hasty retirement was announced.

Officer Brooks, who is black, and Levins who is white, did appear in a news report about the incident.  Many questioned if this was a black Commander who attacked a white female cop, if the same graciousness would have been granted by allowing a retirement over a firing and an arrest.

Sources reported that Levins definitely got the worse end of that fight against a woman, no less.  The assertion of white privilege doesn’t work in all cases.

When as a police supervisor,  you engage in a battery against an Officer, besides for suffering the loss of your DROP payout, your 30 plus year career, and get your ass beat, it wasn’t a very good outcome for Levins.   This should serve as a lesson to others who may want tempt fate by engaging in egregious behavior such as this.

This fight is reminiscent of the fight between (and we use that term lightly) Sergeant Karen Taylor and Officer Lydia Jamerson.  An incident which came to be known as the Pussy Cat VS the Alley Cat.  These two officers were assigned to the Courts when the supervisor asserted a privilege that doesn’t exist for her.  The supervisor, foolheartedly, allegedly proposed the fight.  And yes, they were both on duty, and the battle took place inside the Courthouse.  The supervisor, according to sources, got her ass beaten badly.  In this incident, no one was arrested either.

Double standards have no place in policing.  When people are continually promoted, regardless of theft of time, or multiple sexual harassment, and in the case of Chief Inspector Carl Holmes , who has been accused of “digitally penetrating” a police officer, but admitted to having sex in his police car with a “civilian” employee, there is something awfully wrong.  michele-vandegrift-civil-action

At least former Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey refused to promote Holmes.  Ramsey Refuses To Promote Two High Ranking Cops.

There must be a long hard look at some of the promotees and double standards.