Interrupted By Protest: African-American Police Commissioner Disrespected By Black Lives Matter As His Department Struggles To Recruit Officers

Interrupted by an anti-police protest group at a community forum and faced with a chronic shortage of officers, Philadelphia Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey has a full plate of concerns in front of him.

As guest speaker of the Eastern State Penitentiary Historic Site community forum Tuesday, September 1, 2015, Ramsey was shouted down by Black Lives Matter protesters. He was 15 minutes into his discussion of running one of the largest police forces in the United States when about two dozen demonstrators began to chant, making it impossible for him to continue.

Meanwhile, Ramsey is also faced with the difficulty of finding new recruits for his force. The Philadelphia police department is short by about 200 officers. CBS News quoted Ramsey commenting on his staffing problems.

“Right now policing is not the most attractive occupation that they could probably get into. I think police officers are proud of what they do, but I think that that doesn’t mean they haven’t been hurt by the images that have been shown repeatedly and the portrayal of police as if it just paints us all with one brush. It’s got to hurt a little bit.”

The Black Lives Matter rally was organized by Asa Khalif, the self-proclaimed founder of Racial Unity USA, with about two dozen other participants. The protestors also called themselves the Philly Coalition for REAL Justice in reference to the shooting death by police of armed felon Brandon Tate-Brown in December 2014. Tate-Brown, whose criminal record included attempted murder in the first degree, was driving without headlights in pre-dawn darkness when stopped by police. He was shot as he reached for a gun.

CBS News indicated that Ramsey considers attracting African-American and Hispanic officers his greatest recruitment challenge. The Department of Justice shows a stagnation in the national percentage of black police officers at 12 percent since 2007.

Another challenge Ramsey faces, apart from being interrupted by a protest, is the high proportion of Muslims in Philadelphia’s makeup. A Philly.com report brings the count up to 200,000 Muslims of which 85 percent is African-American, mostly belonging to the restive Nation of Islam.

The founder of this Chicago-based group is Louis Farrakhan, who declared in a February 22, 2015, address that the 9/11 attacks were not committed by Arabs or Muslims, but rather by Zionists. This statement from the organizer of the Million Man March in 1995, whereby an estimated crowd of 400,000 turned up, is ominous for the upcoming September 11 remembrance day.

Philadelphia Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey, who has been touted as a role model for black youth, was appointed by President Barack Obama to chair his Task Force on 21st Century Policing. But Ramsey’s progress in improving community race relations has been interrupted by protest and low police recruitment figures.

[Photo by Mark Makela/Getty Images]