Mayor-elect Cherelle Parker appoints Adam N. Geer to be Philly’s first public safety director

Adam N. Geer, a deputy inspector general and former homicide prosecutor, will be Philadelphia’s first chief public safety director, taking on a new administrative role responsible for coordinating the city’s response to crime.

Mayor-elect Cherelle Parker announced the appointment during a news conference Thursday, saying Geer is an “exceptional candidate” with extensive experience in the Philadelphia criminal justice system.

She also sought to assuage concerns about the chain of command, saying Geer will report directly to her and work closely with police commissioner Kevin J. Bethel, but would not “get in his way.” She said an organizational chart will be finalized after she is inaugurated.

“Anyone who was hoping or was thinking in any way imaginable that the two won’t be acting in sync, you are absolutely wrong,” she said. Geer added that he views himself as an “assist maker” to Bethel and intends to focus his efforts on coordinating the public safety response outside of the Police Department.

Parker and more than a dozen members of her transition team gathered at City Hall for the announcement alongside a bevy of transition team members, community activists, and labor leaders. She also announced that deputy fire commissioner Craig Murphy, a 36-year veteran of the department, will be acting fire commissioner, a role that became vacant because outgoing commissioner Adam K. Thiel will be the next managing director.

The hires were the latest that Parker announced before her inauguration as Philadelphia’s 100th mayor on Jan. 2. Her administration has begun to come into clearer focus this week, with the announcement of Thiel’s appointment and that of a handful of other staff members, including a new director of “clean and green initiatives.”

“We are building one of the most talented and diverse administrations that this city has ever seen,” Parker said Thursday. “We have a lot of hard work to do in the city of Philadelphia, and we are doing our best to pick the best and brightest people to get it done.”

Geer’s appointment, which must be confirmed by City Council, marks a shift in how Philadelphia city government is organized.

Currently, Mayor Jim Kenney’s public safety response is coordinated by outgoing Managing Director Tumar Alexander and his top deputies who work closely with police leadership. Former Mayor Michael A. Nutter had a deputy mayor who oversaw public safety issues and reported directly to him.

Now, Geer will coordinate the deployment of resources and personnel by departments including police, fire, prisons, and emergency services. He’ll also be responsible for guiding the agencies through the budgeting process, drawing up reports on operations and procedures, and maintaining relationships with groups outside the city government such as civic associations and schools.

In his current role, Geer works in the city’s Office of the Inspector General, which is responsible for conducting investigations of city agencies and employees to root out fraud and corruption.

“The last couple of years, I’ve been trying to do exactly what this position describes,” Geer said. “That is pull together city agencies, pull together community leaders, pull together anyone and everyone.”

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He also worked two stints in the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office, as a prosecutor between 2007 and 2011, then again from 2015 to 2021. Under District Attorney Larry Krasner, Geer worked in the municipal court unit and then as a homicide prosecutor. He also was the office’s director of diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Geer said it has not yet been determined whether he will have an office with a staff and budget. He will be paid $265,000 a year, a salary required by the legislation that created the position.

The appointment fulfills a key priority of outgoing City Council President Darrell L. Clarke, who earlier this year championed controversial legislation that requires the new position, outlines its purview, and ensures that Council must confirm Geer. Council advanced the matter, which asked voters to approve an amendment to the city’s Home Rule Charter, on an expedited timeline.

Kenney, who leaves office next week, vetoed the legislation and his administration argued that it had not had time to assess its potential impact and could limit a future mayor’s ability to shape an administration.

Council overrode the veto, and voters approved the measure through a ballot question in May.

A key motivation for Council to create the position was the perceived lack of coordination among leaders of the city’s criminal-justice system, including the courts, the Police Department, and District Attorney Larry Krasner’s office.

Krasner’s progressive approach has at times put him at odds with Kenney and is in contrast to the tough-on-crime message that was central to Parker’s victory in the mayor’s race.

”We’re going to be working together. He is a duly elected official. I know the DA personally,” Geer said. “We are all adults. The citizens of Philadelphia don’t have time for anything else, so we’re going to be working together. We may not always agree, but we’re going to be working together.”

Murphy rose through the ranks of the Philadelphia Fire Department over the course of more than three decades, serving as a lieutenant, a captain, a battalion chief, a deputy commissioner, and now acting commissioner. He is scheduled to retire next year.

“I wish he could stay with us longer,” Parker said, “but we are going to put his great skills to use as long as we possibly can.”

Murphy spoke briefly during the news conference Thursday alongside former Fire Commissioner Lloyd Ayers, recalling that Ayers helped him study for his first promotional exam decades ago.

“This was not a difficult decision to make. When Mayor-elect Cherelle Parker asks you to serve, there’s only one answer: Yes,” Murphy said. “The delivery of fire and emergency services is not just a job, but it’s a call to serve.”