Inept Philly Leaders Exposed During Police Shootout

Guy gets drunk.

Guy drives fast, while drunk.

Guy crashes into someone — his sixth DUI offense.

Politician blames beer companies, access to alcohol, and sports cars. Pol then calls for speed limiters and more regulations on alcohol and cars.

Sound crazy?

Darn right, yet change “drunk driver” to “guy who shot at police,” and you have Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney.

Let’s recap: as police were serving a drug warrant in North Philadelphia, they were met with a hail of gunfire, resulting in six officers being shot by alleged gunman Maurice Hill. The standoff lasted for hours.

Enter Mayor Kenney.

Rather than prioritizing the safe extraction of the wounded officers, the Mayor instead grandstanded in front of cameras while the shooting was still occurring! Arrogant and impotent aptly describe the Mayor’s normal persona, but none do justice to his actions that day. In playing to his fifteen seconds of fame, he thought it better to push meaningless gun control than provide the leadership to secure his officers’ safety.

Yet instead of rolling up his sleeves to rescue his men in blue — as former Mayor Frank Rizzo would have boldly done — he was busy blaming guns instead of the shooter. Miraculously, all officers survived, but that was despite Jim Kenney — not because of him.

It is mindboggling that someone as aloof as Jim Kenney can become mayor of America’s sixth-largest city. Here are Kenney’s words during the standoff:

“Our officers need help with gun control… help with keeping these weapons out of these people’s hands. Our officers don’t deserve to be shot at by a guy for hours with an unlimited supply of weapons and bullets.” He added: “It’s disgusting and we’ve got to do something about it.”

If the Mayor had done his job rather than shoot from the hip with wildly inaccurate statements, he’d have realized that something was done — a long time ago. It’s called laws making it illegal for convicted felons to possess firearms. The Mayor also would have known that Hill is a convicted felon with a long rap sheet including assault, drug dealing, perjury, and fleeing and eluding. And he did a 55-month stint in federal prison for being a felon in possession of firearms.

So if Hill wasn’t legally permitted to possess a gun, and yet used guns in the shootout, why would the Mayor call for more gun control? It’s folly to think that additional gun restrictions would have prevented the situation.

With non-leaders like Jim Kenney at the helm, Philadelphia is a second-rate city. And that’s a travesty.

Speaking of Philadelphia’s future, there’s a mayoral election this November. But since Philly is a one-party town, Kenney’s reelection is a virtually a done-deal. So Philly gets what it deserves — an inept career politician. And residents shouldn’t dare whine when the city further devolves over the next four years, as the rates of murder, violence, poverty, and homelessness jump; snow removal is late or nonexistent; taxes skyrocket; companies and high-earners flee; “diversity” trumps fairness; and government-sanctioned drug use in a “sanctuary city” flourish.

With that “record,” Baltimore has nothing on Philly.

At least Mayor Kenney has one thing in his favor: his actions weren’t the most insane that day. That honor goes to those in the crowd who, during the shooting, taunted police, and physically harassed officers by shoving them and hurling objects their way. If that weren’t enough, some even organized a rally supporting Hill. Why they were backing a man who threatened their lives and the security of the neighborhood remains a mystery, but like everything else, it was probably rooted in blaming Donald Trump and — cue refrain here — the “racist” system. Do we even need to mention that many of the cops and the police commissioner are black?

How utterly counterproductive, since the vast majority — both black and white — won’t give any attention to the protestors’ grievances. Uncivil extremism will never win the day, but that’s a lesson completely lost on the “Free Maurice Hill” crowd.

This incident should shed light on what has become a wayward and increasingly inept judiciary. With Hill’s rap sheet, he should not have been on the street. But as is so often the case, criminals with high recidivism rates are released early by incompetent judges, while others languish in the pen for minor offenses that should have been rehabilitated using less expensive, non-prison methods. On a broader scale, we have far too many activist judges choosing to make law rather than interpret it.

If we want to avoid repeats of the Philadelphia shooting, the best place to start is judicial reform from top to bottom, so that those who belong off the street, stay off the street.

Chris Freind is an independent columnist, television commentator, and investigative reporter who operates his own news bureau, Freindly Fire Zone Media. Read more reports from Chris Freind — Click Here Now.