Council aides arrested for possible DUI involving city cars
Note: This post has been updated with additional information.
Council aides arrested for possible DUI involving city cars
Catherine Lucey
Note: This post has been updated with additional information.
Two City Council aides were arrested this morning and charged with drunk driving -- and both were operating city vehicles.
The episdoe began at about 2:30 a.m. when Robin Jones -- a Council receptionist -- crashed into a pole and and then a building at the corner of 13th and Hamilton streets, said police spokeswoman Tanya Little. Jones' blood alcohol levels tested above the legal limits for operating a vehicle. Then Jones contacted another Council staffer, sergeant-at arms Rodney Williams, who came to the accident site and also appeared intoxicated. He too tested above the legal alcohol limit.
Both Jones and Williams were charged with drunk driving, Little said. No injuries were reported.
Council President Darrell Clarke released a statement, saying Little and Williams did not have permission to use city vehicles. He pledged “appropriate action” after a police investigation is complete.
"These acts, if confirmed by the authorities, display a level of conduct and disregard for public safety that cannot be tolerated," Clarke said in the statement.
City Council has three pool cars for staff, said Clarke’s spokeswoman Jane Roh. Roh said the two staffers arrested did not receive permission from the President's office on Friday to drive any of those vehicles.
Of the 17 Council members, 11 have a city car, according to an Inquirer report earlier this year. Those with cars are Kenyatta Johnson, Dennis O'Brien, David Oh, Jannie Blackwell, Curtis Jones, Darrell L. Clarke, Maria Quiñones Sánchez, Marian B. Tasco, Brian O'Neill, Bill Greenlee, and Blondell Reynolds Brown.
Council members withOUT city cars are: Bill Green, Mark Squilla, Bobby Henon, Cindy Bass, Wilson Goode, and Jim Kenney.— chuck.goodwin- COMMISSIONER RAMSEY YOU WOULD FIRED A STREET COP IN A SECOND , BUT YOU WILL ALLOW POLICE INSPECTOR HORNE TO ORDER A COVER UP , FALSIFIED POLICE DOCUMENTS , AND TAMPER WITH A CITY COMPUTER , A VIOLATION OF FEDERAL GUIDE LINES IN REPORTING CRIMES ? ALSO OBSTRUCTION OF JUSTICE AND HINDERING CRIMINAL PROSECUTION ? THE STREET COP WILL HAVE TO CALL FOR A SUPERVISOR BEFORE THEY ARREST SOMEBODY , AND ASK IS IT OK , OR SHOULD WE DESTROY THE EVIDENCE ?? POLICE OFFICER DARDEN WAS ASSAULTED AND OUT OF WORK FOR TWO MONTHS . WE NEED A GRAND JURY TO GET TO THE TRUTH ??
WE NEED TO HAVE A POLICE COMMISSIONER ENFORCE THE LAW . WE DO NOT NEED HIGH RANKING POLICE OFFICIALS COMMITTING CRIMES AGAINST WOMAN AND TELLING POLICE OFFICERS TO DESTROY EVIDENCE THIS IS A CRIME AND WE NEED TO CLEAN OUT THE CORRUPTION UNDER POLICE COMMISSIONER RAMSEY, AKA AL CAPONE AND HIS UNDER BOSSES , MAYBE THIS IS THE CHICAGO WAY, THE CITIZENS AND THE STREET COPS WANT IT THE RIGHT WAY. IT USE TO BE THE BAD GUYS DRESS IN BLACK NOW THEY WEAR WHITE SHIRTS . THE TONY SOPRANO MENTALITY RUNS HIGH ON THE THIRD FLOOR OF POLICE HEADQUARTERS— JOEYMACK - If the aids did not have permission.Then its theft and both should be arrested for theft besides DUI.And I agree with JOEYMACK— realtime
- So what?— eaglescali
- Well, surprise! Now, all be good boys and girls, forget it and go vote Dem again in the next elections.— DonQ
- Don't worry DA Seth Williams is on the job. If he prosecutes these two, it will bring his total to two.— tlee
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David Gambacorta spent a small eternity writing about cops, drug dealers and serial killers. Now he’s writing about power and politics – which sometimes reminds him of the old crime beat. He joined the Daily News in 2005. And yes, he knows you’re not quite sure how to pronounce his last name. E-mail tips to gambacd@phillynews.com
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Jan Ransom, a native New Yorker, joined the Daily News in 2010 after graduating from Howard University. She has since written about the difficulty of filing police complaints, tax deadbeats and life after violent home invasions. She joined the Daily News City Hall Bureau in 2011 and has plunged headfirst into reporting on administration budget battles and City Council shenanigans. E-mail tips to ransomj@phillynews.com
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Sean Collins Walsh is from Bucks County and went to Northwestern University. He joined the Daily News copy desk in 2012 and now covers the Nutter administration. Before that, he interned at papers including The New York Times, The Dallas Morning News and The Seattle Times. E-mail tips to walshSE@phillynews.com
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