Phila. police officer accused of lewd conduct

A Philadelphia police officer was arrested Wednesday on charges that he exposed himself to a woman while on duty.

Officer Joseph Harvey, a seven-year member of the force, also has been suspended for 30 days with intent to dismiss.

Harvey, 35, is charged with indecent exposure, official oppression and false imprisonment, police said.

Harvey was assigned to the 24th District and was working on an investigation with other officers around midnight Oct. 9, said Chief Inspector Anthony DiLacqua, head of the Internal Affairs Division.

The officers were in an apartment in Kensington, investigating criminal activity, when Harvey and a woman came to be alone in a room. The woman, who DiLacqua said is in her early 20s and does not live at the apartment, later told police that Harvey had exposed himself to her and performed an indecent act. He did not touch or injure the woman, DiLacqua said.

DiLacqua did not identify the woman or comment on the location of the residence, but said it was near Kensington and Somerset Avenues.

The woman reported the incident immediately, and Internal Affairs investigated with the District Attorney's Office.

Harvey is charged with false imprisonment because he was on duty, had questioned the woman as part of an investigation, and was displaying his badge and weapon.

"By nature of his job, she was not free to leave the room," DiLacqua said. "She was not at liberty to walk away."

The District Attorney's Office approved an arrest warrant Monday, and Harvey surrendered Wednesday morning to Internal Affairs, police said.

Before working in the 24th District, Harvey was assigned to the 15th, in North Philadelphia. No similar complaints were made about Harvey in the past, DiLacqua said.