Eight more Philly cops were benched amid widening probe into a city antiviolence program

Eight Philadelphia police officers have been placed on restricted duty and stripped of their service weapons — and the FBI is investigating — after an Inquirer report revealed that the officers had improperly received tens of thousands of dollars in city antiviolence grant money.

A police spokesperson confirmed the reassignments of the officers as well as a civilian police staffer. Together with a police captain who resigned last week, they pocketed more than $75,000 from a $392,000 city grant issued to Epiphany Fellowship Church for a program called Guns Down Gloves Up, city records show. City employees are not allowed to be paid from such grants.

In addition, children and relatives of police officers collected at least one third of funds paid to participants in the youth boxing program — more than $5,000 in prepaid debit cards, records obtained by The Inquirer show.

The program, according to its grant application, was supposed to use those debit cards to attract young people in North Philadelphia’s 19121 zip code who are at risk of becoming involved in gun violence, thereby improving police-community relations in the neighborhood. Yet, public records indicate that several of those teens and young adults reside in Delaware County or in the city’s Mount Airy neighborhood.

» READ MORE: How a Philadelphia antiviolence grant improperly funneled $76,000 to city police staffers

The boxing program’s founder, former 22nd District Police Captain Nashid Akil, resigned last week, one day after receiving notice that he would be fired in connection with an unrelated incident in which he allegedly lied on paperwork and to police Internal Affairs.

An Inquirer investigation last October found that Akil routinely skipped work or showed up mid-shift, while chaos ensued within the police district he commanded. He was removed from that post and reassigned hours after the story published.

About six weeks later, the city suspended its grant, amid investigations by the city Office of Inspector General and Internal Affairs.

The FBI has also recently opened its own probe into the grant money, according to a source familiar with the matter who spoke under the condition of anonymity to discuss details of the investigation.

A spokesperson for the FBI’s Philadelphia field office said she could neither confirm nor deny any investigation. A police spokesperson declined to comment on the existence of the probe as well.

Epiphany Fellowship leaders declined repeated interview requests, and referred questions to Bridgette M. Rice, a Villanova University professor listed as the lead applicant on the grant. Rice referred questions about the grant’s suspension to the city, and did not respond to follow-up questions about the program’s participants.

» READ MORE: A Philadelphia police captain is often absent, and his district is in chaos

The staff who were reassigned include a married couple, Officers George and Robyn Gee, and their adult daughter, civilian staffer Brittney Gray. Combined, they took home more than $30,000 for coaching the boxing program, while three children who share their surname received another $1,800. George Gee declined interview requests.

Another officer, whose side business is running an ice cream truck, was permitted to sell ice cream during the outdoor boxing events, her social media posts show. Her son also was among those paid for participating in the program.

» READ MORE: Philly’s gun-violence spending is surging, but many funded programs lack clear goals to show progress

Also reassigned after being paid from the funds were Officers Janae McDonald, LaCarmela Fortune, Mark DiGenio, Daniel Moll, and Brittany Crockett, and Highway Patrol Officer Michael Minor. Some hung up the phone on a reporter or declined comment, while attempts to reach others were not successful.

A department spokesperson also declined to say whether any of the officers were paid for coaching during hours when they were also on duty.

The reassignments have taken even more officers out of a district that Akil said in October was short about one-quarter of its 250 officers. Citywide, the department counted more than 500 vacant officer positions, The Inquirer reported in October.

A spokesperson for the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 5, the Philadelphia police union, declined to comment.

Several officers at the 22nd District said the misuse of grant funds was an open secret, and that those who were paid had ample notice that it was not permissible.

“Of course they knew,” one officer said, who declined to be named for fear of retaliation. “We have directives in place.”

— Staff writer Barbara Laker contributed reporting