Call for Philly police head to resign over Rodney King shirt

PHILADELPHIA – A city council member is calling for the resignation of the Philadelphia police commissioner for having worn a T-shirt decades ago that critics say made light of a Los Angeles police beating.

Acting commissioner Christine Coulter said Tuesday she was “profoundly sorry” for the shirt reading, “L.A.P.D. We Treat You Like a King.” Critics say that makes light of the 1991 beating of Rodney King. She has said she didn’t link the shirt to King’s beating.

Councilwoman Cindy Bass said she wrote to Mayor Jim Kenney to say Coulter should “step down immediately” after a photo of Coulter wearing the shirt surfaced recently.

In a statement, Kenney said he didn’t think a “bad decision” 25 years ago should outweigh decades of service by Coulter, who became interim commissioner following Richard Ross’s resignation.