Mayor Parker Responds To Police Force During Philly Pride
Mayor Cherelle L. Parker says her administration is investigating the Philadelphia Police Department’s response to post-Pride celebrations in the Gayborhood after 15 people were arrested Sunday and videos of officers using force sparked outrage across the city’s LGBTQ+ community.
In a public statement Tuesday, Parker acknowledged the anger and pain surrounding the police response and said city officials are now gathering information and preparing to meet with community leaders.
“I know that members of our LGBTQ+ community are hurting, frustrated, and looking for answers,” Parker said. “I want everyone to know that I hear you, I see you, and my Administration is taking your concerns seriously.”
The mayor said senior members of her administration, including LGBTQ+ Affairs Director Tito Valdes and Police Commissioner Kevin Bethel, had already met to review what happened and determine next steps. “We must reject the notion that public safety and accountability are mutually exclusive,” Parker said.
The response follows a chaotic end to Pride weekend, when police moved to disperse crowds in the Gayborhood after the city’s official Pride festival on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway. Images and videos posted online showed officers on motorcycles and horseback pushing through crowds, while others formed lines to clear barricaded streets near 13th and Walnut.
Police later said five officers who wore face coverings during the enforcement had violated department policy, and the department is now determining what discipline, if any, they may face.
Commissioner Bethel said officers had been responding to mounting safety concerns, including fights, disorderly behavior, blocked roadways and the difficulty of managing large crowds in a confined area. He said the decision to clear parts of the neighborhood “was not made in any way, shape, or form because people were celebrating Pride.”
Still, the tactics drew immediate backlash. City Councilmember Rue Landau said, “Police brutality has no place at Pride.”
This year’s celebration was already different before the arrests began. For the first time, the main Pride festival was moved from the Gayborhood to the Parkway, with organizers citing security concerns tied to growing attendance. Even so, many attendees returned to the Gayborhood afterward, only to find several blocks barricaded, creating tight pedestrian corridors that some said worsened confusion and tension.
The city now faces a familiar but urgent question: how to safeguard large public celebrations without turning a Pride gathering into a flashpoint over policing.
SEE ALSO:
Cherelle Parker: Philly’s 1st Black Woman Mayor?
LL Cool J Cancels Philly Show In Support Of Striking City Workers