A Philly detective who handles sex crimes is under investigation for allegedly posting crude tweets about women, police say

A detective in the Philadelphia Police Department’s special victims unit who is assigned to investigate sex crimes is under internal investigation for a series of offensive tweets posted on his account over the years, including a number of crude sexual remarks about women.

“The only reason [I’m] watching the Phils now is because [of] the hot chick behind the on-deck circle!!!” read a tweet posted on Ron Kahlan’s Twitter page in 2012. That post was among the tamest of the tweets Kahlan allegedly wrote that were shared Saturday by an Instagram account called WatchOutPhilly.

In others, Kahlan’s account replied to pages such as “@ILikeGirlsDaily” with vulgar sexual innuendo and boorish language.

Many of the tweets in question were from 2011 or 2012, according to an Inquirer review. In more recent years, Kahlan’s account — which used the handle “@rkppd” — tended to comment instead on politics, often by making disparaging remarks about Democrats, including Rep. Nancy Pelosi and Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs.

In February, his account re-tweeted a post from another account asking if Christine Blasey Ford — the woman who accused then-U.S. Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of sexual assault — should be arrested.

Sgt. Eric Gripp, a police spokesperson, said Internal Affairs was investigating and that Kahlan “will not be assigned additional cases pending the outcome.”

Attempts to reach Kahlan for comment Sunday were unsuccessful.

The Inquirer reviewed Kahlan’s account at the end of last week, before WatchOutPhilly re-published a selection of his tweets. Kahlan’s account has since been made private, limiting the ability to view his timeline.

Kahlan’s position and Twitter account came to light in part because he was assigned to investigate allegations against Antoine Smith, a Temple University assistant football coach accused by several women of sexual misconduct.

Amanda Jonas Lorentson, an attorney representing some of the women, said she was “disappointed” by the tweets on Kahlan’s page. She added that she believes SVU for months had not seriously considered the complaints against Smith until they were recently shared on social media.

“I hope that going forward the authorities treat this matter with the sensitivity and diligence that it deserves,” she said.

Many of the tweets on Kahlan’s page were crude, including comments about woman’s appearances and vulgar descriptions of sex acts.

Kahlan, a 24-year veteran of the force, is not the the first Philadelphia officer to come under scrutiny for his social media presence. In 2019, advocates with the Plain View Project published a database of racist or offensive Facebook posts or comments made by hundreds of city cops.

The Police Department went on to fire 15 officers and discipline dozens of others for what they wrote, an unprecedented undertaking. Still, some officers have since won their jobs back in arbitration proceedings mandated under the city’s contract with the police union.

Gripp, the police spokesperson, said Sunday that Kahlan had been removed from the investigation into the allegations against Smith, and the case has been reassigned to another detective. Gripp did not say how long the investigation into Kahlan might take.