Officer's Actions Probed After Multiple Complaints

Philadelphia Police Officer Thomas Schaffling was cleared of wrong doing in a high-profile beating, but citizens claim he has threatened and roughed up innocent people in two more incidents.

The police department finally took action after these men told their story to us and police investigators.

The first man recalled his encounter with Schaffling for NBC 10:

"His foot was on my door. My hands are in the air. He said 'Move and I'im going to blow your (expletive) head off," said Thomas Jenkins, as he re-enacted how the officer aimed his gun at him during a traffic stop


Jenkins said Sunday afternoon he was driving his friend to church when Schaffling pulled them over at Merion and Girard avenues.

They said Schaffling wore his narcotics Strike Force hat backwards.

"Immediately, the other officer was shocked that he drew his gun with a routine stop," Jenkins recalled. "He said, 'What the (expletive) are you doing?' So he put his gun to my head and at that point I was scared for my life."

Jenkins and his friend said they don't have criminal records and have never been arrested but they were cuffed, slammed against the car and thrown in the back of the police cruiser.

The men were released with seven citations for moving violations and driving without a license, registration, and insurance, even though the men say they had all the paperwork and the car was not impounded.

"I repeatedly said I had all my information is in my glove compartment," Jenkins said.

They filed complaints with the police department but had no idea that that the same officer and his partner were also being questioned about their actions at a baby shower two weeks ago in North Philadelphia.

"He's a public safety nightmare," said a man who attended the baby shower.

Witnesses claimed Schaffling ran into a yard where families were gathered for an outdoor celebration.

Neighbors said Schaffling was looking for a suspect, pulled his gun, arrested the wrong man and also threatened, cursed, Maced and roughed up a young father trying to protect his child.

Members of the police advisory commission said they wrote a letter last week asking the commissioner to take Schaffling off the street.

They said they received no response.

Schaffling was one of the 18 officers caught on tape in a highly publicized May 5 beating. Though Schaffling grabbed the driver out of the car, he was not reprimanded.

He wasn't disciplined because he didn't do anything wrong," Commissioner Charles H. Ramsey said.

Ramsey told NBC 10 that he has temporarily taken Schaffling and Strike Force partner Timothy Devlin off street duty pending the outcome of the two latest investigations.

"If he's wrong, I'll take action but if he's not wrong, then I'll support him 100 percent," Ramsey said. "But I'm not going to be pressured into something simply because an officer was involved in a previous incident."

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