PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Crime in Philadelphia is proving to be a favorite topic for Republican U.S. Senate candidate Dr. Mehmet Oz. He convened a public safety discussion on Thursday. It is at least his third event on crime in the last month. And his Democratic opponent, Lt. Gov. John Fetterman, is fighting back.
Former U.S. Attorney Bill McSwain joined Oz at Galdo’s Catering in South Philadelphia. McSwain ran unsuccessfully in the Republican primary for governor. He focused on his fight against efforts to open a safe injection site in South Philadelphia, tying progressive policies to higher crime rates.
“We have a culture of lawlessness in Philadelphia that is contributing to things like record carjackings, record homicides, record shootings. We need to have respect for the law,” McSwain said.
Meanwhile, in North Philadelphia, the Guardian Civic League, the local chapter of the National Association of Black Law Enforcement Officers, representing 1,200 Philadelphia police officers of color, was endorsing Fetterman.
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Its political action committee chair, Philadelphia Sheriff Rochelle Bilal, pointed to the five years of zero murders in Braddock, when Fetterman was mayor of the Allegheny County town.
“John Fetterman’s action in Braddock shows that he knows what law enforcement needs. We don’t know who Mehmec [sic] Oz is,” Bilal said.
The Montgomery County sheriff has also endorsed Fetterman, though Oz has received the bulk of law enforcement endorsements.