Results tagged “philadelphiafiredepartment”

It seems like all of the news this week surrounded the death of Philadelphia police sergeant Stephen Liczbinski. So it's only fitting—albeit sadly so—that this week's Asshole of the Week be tied into that story as well. As you've certainly read by now, in the wake of Liczbinski's death, Michael Nutter requested that all the flags in the city be lowered to half-staff. We've come to be familiar with, and even accept, this kind of practice. It kind of goes along with all of the media attention that the death of a police officer inevitably attracts. Of course, we have some issues with this phenomenon. Most notably, we don't really support the underlying premise of the public outcry surrounding a police officer's death: that a police officer's life is worth more than an ordinary citizens. We don't think we should mourn an officer murdered in the line of duty any more, or any less, than a civilian who happens to be in the wrong place at the wrong time and ends up as "just another victim" in the minds of most Philadelphians. But we're getting off the point.