Recent Incident Proves New Dress Code For PAL Officers Beneficial
By John McDevitt
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - Philadelphia police officers interacting with kids at PAL centers in the city need to be in full uniform, and that includes wearing guns.
An incident in Lower Kensington earlier this week may be showing the change is a good thing. On Wednesday night, there was a shooting outside the Lighthouse Police Athletic League in the 100 block of West Somerset Street.
Police say a PAL officer in his required dress code got involved in a foot chase. Authorities say the shooter got away, but the officer arrested a man with narcotics on him. No one got hurt.
LT. Bill Eddis -- the commanding officer of PAL -- lobbied the police commissioner for the uniform requirement in the name of safety:
"We are a police officer first. So him going out there and chasing someone down, identifies him as a police officer. Officers can pull up not knowing that he or she is an officer so that reconfirms my decision that it was about safety purposes."
The new uniform requirement went into effect last month.
Instead of sweat suits, the 30 full-time PAL officers must wear police uniforms similar to a bike cop....bulletproof vests, polo shirts and cargo pants. Guns, cuffs and radios must be carried at all times.
"It identifies the officer who he or she is for professional purposes," LT. Eddis says, "but mainly for safety reasons and I know if they can't keep themselves safe, how are they going to keep the kids safe?"
Lt. Eddis lobbied for the dress code policy after a deadly 2012 shooting outside a PAL center. The officer there was not carrying his radio or gun.
