by Jay A McCalla

First off, let me say I've never had the pleasure of meeting Deputy Commissioner of Police Richard Ross. I'm sure he's a good man, committed to his church, family and community. I'll even assume he gives generously to the United Way.

But the quality of his personal relationships and sense of charity aren't the reasons Ross has been propelled into the news. You see, Mayor-elect Jim Kenney has chosen him as his new Commissioner of Police, which is a very big deal. With 6,000 cops (constable on patrol), our police force is the 4th largest in the nation and, as one former mayor boasted, could invade Cuba.

It’s a reasonable, intuitive appointment that was certainly vetted with minority – communities and the Fraternal Order of Police. As a deputy since 2008, it's fair to assume he has good relationships with City Council. No other names were seriously mentioned and his selection was announced without an ounce of surprise or irony.

Choosing from the List of Obvious Choices, while politically safe, kills the potential dynamism of government and assures the same blind spots will be passed on from one generation of managers to the next. In promoting Ross, Kenney follows the pattern of almost every mayor with the possible exception of W. Wilson Goode, who appointed former US Secret Service Agent Kevin Tucker as Police Commissioner.

The “easy peasy” nature of Ross’s appointment was troubling, given the chronic crisis of ethics that has confronted the department since the 39th District Scandal, which involved a persistent pattern of brutality and corruption resulting in the dismissal of hundreds of convictions in 1995. In August of 2015, (20 years later) 560 convictions were reversed due to police misconduct. Big, bad things continue to happen in that department.

“Busted: A Tale of Corruption and Betrayal in the City of Brotherly Love,” written by Daily News reporters Wendy Ruderman and Barbara Laker, won a Pulitzer Prize for its detailed account of ingrained, cultural and ethical defects in the Philadelphia police force.

Since 2009, Philadelphia has, because of its police department, paid out $40 million in 600 misconduct suits, including 29 shootings, making us one of the most abusive departments in the nation. Given the troubling dimension of our problem, it seems like “weak tea” that Ross simply wants to expand the existing pilot program for body cams. Why not just implement body cams?

After 26 years on the force, Ross is to be forgiven if his loyalty to the department might rival his loyalty to its mission. Over time, a deference to the culture becomes part of the culture. That’s the problem with a career cop.

Modern policing has become exponentially more sensitive since the emergence of the Occupy Movement, Black Lives Matter and the honest, noble presence of cell phones. Tolerance for bad behavior and petty abuses of power have diminished, but it's unclear if Philly’s police force is prepared to meet much higher scrutiny and expectations.

Whatever else Richard Ross is, he is not anti-corruption crusader Frank Serpico. Ross has not made opposition to bad cops a conspicuous hallmark of his career. To be fair, no one else has either. It seems too many cops have spent their careers looking the other way (or far worse) as their partners grift and brutalize. The code of silence governing cops makes them intrinsically complicit in crimes, even if they have not explicitly committed a single criminal act.

The prospect for reform is further diminished by Ross’ declaration that he sees retiring Commissioner Charles Ramsay as “a mentor” from whom the baton is being passed. Ross would build on the work of Ramsay. If “a new broom sweeps clean,” what will Ross do?

Voter participation, in my view, is impacted by the performance of government. Are we behind the times or are we cutting edge? Do we rise to new challenges or do we endure while street signs become a relic of the past. One of the most appealing features of a 21st century American city is a progressive police force that can cope with mischievous youth, transgender citizens and homelessness with equal wisdom and patience. We won't get there habitually choosing from the List of Obvious Choices.