Incoming Philadelphia mayor taps the city’s chief of school safety as next police commissioner

Published November 22, 2023 10:36 AM

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Philadelphia Mayor-elect Cherelle Parker has selected longtime police official Kevin J. Bethel to become the next police commissioner of the nation’s sixth most populous city. Parker announced the decision Wednesday. Bethel is a former deputy police commissioner in Philadelphia who since 2019 has served as the chief of safety in the city’s school district. He has earned a reputation as a reformer interested in breaking the school-to-prison pipeline in the majority Black district. Parker describes him as a leader who can make tough decisions with a balanced approach.

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