Officer Appears to Steal From Bar's Safe: Ramsey

The Philadelphia Police commissioner admits one of his officers may have taken hundreds of dollars from the safe of a Frankford bar.

Three officers with the department's K9 unit were responding to an alarm call at New Vision Auto Detailing and Repair shop around 4 a.m. Tuesday when they noticed a basement grate to a nearby bar open, police say.

That bar was Pat's Café located along the 4600-block of Castor Avenue, which is a haunted place for the force. Officer Gary Skerski was killed there while responding to a call back in May 2006.

The officers went inside to investigate and when they determined nothing was wrong they tried to contact the bar's alarm company, police say.

Officials say those efforts were unsuccessful, so two of the officers left a note for the owner. They also helped themselves to some non-alcoholic drinks.

But Commissioner Charles Ramsey says when those officers weren't looking, it appears the third went into the bar's unlocked safe and pocketed $825. The entire act was caught on surveillance video.

"There is a portion of the tape that shows one of the officers removed something from a safe at that location," Comm. Ramsey said.

All three officers were placed on desk duty after the allegations were made, but the two cops who weren't aware of the apparent theft -- a sergeant and officer -- should be back on the beat as early as Friday, Comm. Ramsey said.

"Those two officers and their families don't deserve to be painted with the same brush right now," Comm. Ramsey said.

The other officer, who sources say is a 20-plus-year vet of the force, will remain off the street as the investigation continues, officials say.

The stolen cash has not been recovered and both the Internal Affairs department and the Philadelphia District Attorney's office are investigating.

Leave Comments