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126 Phila. cops – including a once-fired officer – get promotions

As 126 Philadelphia police officers moved up the ranks in a promotional ceremony Friday, Commissioner Richard Ross urged them to lead with compassion.

At a ceremony at the Temple Performing Arts Center, 126 Philadelphia Police Department officers are promoted to various ranks.
At a ceremony at the Temple Performing Arts Center, 126 Philadelphia Police Department officers are promoted to various ranks.Read moreDAVID SWANSON / Staff Photographer

As 126 Philadelphia police officers moved up the ranks in a promotional ceremony Friday, Commissioner Richard Ross urged them to lead with compassion.

"It is your leadership that will help to shape what people think about us," Ross said at the ceremony Friday morning at Temple University's Performing Arts Center.

For some, like Maria Ortiz-Rodriguez, promoted from Internal Affairs sergeant to a lieutenant in the 19th District, the task will come naturally.

Ortiz-Rodriguez, 40, has volunteered at St. Christopher's Hospital for Children; served in the Special Victims Unit; and started a support group for children who, like her 9-year-old son, have autism.

For some others, Ross' charge may be a challenge.

Nashid Akil, 36 - who once was suspended for allegedly abusing and arresting a handicapped man - was promoted to lieutenant despite being fired from the force in 2003 for allegedly stealing cash during a car stop.

Although police officials previously declined to say how Akil got his job back in 2005, many fired officers return through arbitration.

In remarks to the newly promoted, Mayor Kenney stressed that most Philadelphia residents are good people.

"The overwhelming vast majority of our citizens are decent people who want to help you, who will respect you, who deserve respect in return," he said. "The most important thing you can do . . . is to make sure that . . . the people who work under you understand that."

For Ortiz-Rodriguez, who is marking her 21st year on the force, respect for policing - and for people - runs in the family. Her grandfather was a police officer in Puerto Rico; her husband, Javier, is a lieutenant in the 18th District.

"I wanted to be a police officer for as long as I can remember," she said. "My Plan B was to become a nurse, so I was a volunteer at St. Christopher's, and the whole time I was there I talked about becoming a police officer, so I stuck with that."

Ortiz-Rodriguez's daughter Soraya, 15, stood on the arts center's balcony with two bouquets of flowers for her mother. She said it was great to have her parents on the force, but she also gets scared.

"You worry because, you know, society today, with police officers and stuff," Soraya said. "But other times, you feel really proud."

For many of the promoted officers, a new title comes with a new wardrobe.

Sgt. Charles McLemore, who will be stationed in the 18th District, received the first promotion of his 20-year career. When asked if he's looking forward to being a "white shirt" - a term often used to distinguish police supervisors from the officers in blue - McLemore, 42, said he's excited about the opportunity but not the wardrobe change.

"I'm not looking forward to the white shirt," he said. "It's hard to keep clean, but I'll do my best."

For Talitha Massaquoi - whose husband, Kpana, was promoted to captain - the worry that comes with loving a police officer didn't subside with her husband's promotion.

"I say a lot of prayers," Massaquoi said. "I just go out and believe he'll return to us safe and unharmed."

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