Cartoon: Groundhog Day in Philly means many weeks more of botched leadership

An independent investigation into the city’s response to civil unrest found botched planning and a lack of and leadership. No kidding.

Investigators hired by the controller’s office noted that city officials failed to adequately plan for the size of the summer protests. Additionally, understaffing of the police likely led to the use of “inappropriate force” by officers, including the deployment of tear gas for the first time since 1985.

The report offered new details about internal conversations and Outlaw’s decision-making during three days of unrest, especially regarding the use of tear gas. Most notably, it revealed how she was on the scene at critical moments.

Police ultimately deployed tear gas three times: on May 31 in residential areas of Kensington and West Philadelphia, and on June 1 on I-676 in Center City, where protesters were trapped in a ravine. There have to be layers and layers of de-escalation — steps and actions taken by law enforcement — before you reach that point. The report states this use of force, however, could have been avoided had the City taken the proper steps in protecting the entrance ramp to the highway. The Police Department was aware that the “taking of the highway” is a common protest tactic.

Don’t get me wrong. Freedom to protest is a protected right, but others have rights too. Rioting, looting, or closing a major interstate highway is an illegal activity. If you choose to break the law, there should be consequences. Spraying chemicals in the face of a demonstrator at close range just doesn’t seem like the right thing to do. And it adds to Commissioner Outlaw’s history of using tear gas on protesters, going back to her days as Chief of Police in Portland, Oregon.

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