Sources: Police Oversight Commission chair accused of selling confidential info through public defender job

PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — The chair of the Philadelphia Citizens Police Oversight Commission was arrested on bribery charges Tuesday morning.

Hassan Bennett, 43, faces charges in connection with selling confidential information about criminal cases, which he obtained through his job as a bail navigator at the Defender Association of Philadelphia, sources said.

A source told KYW Newsradio that Bennett nearly lost his job a few years ago for a similar incident.

Bennett has been on the Citizens Police Oversight Committee (CPOC) since it was formed four years ago. It was intended as a police reform measure — replacing what many considered a toothless police advisory board — but it has been stymied by infighting, high staff turnover, including multiple resignations and expulsions, and an arbitrator’s ruling that it cannot independently investigate police officers.

Only six of its nine seats are filled. Bennett took over as chair when the original chairman quit in 2024.

Bennett was seen as a good choice for the commission because of his own involvement in the criminal justice system. He was tried four times and ultimately convicted of murder in 2008. He served 11 years in prison before being granted a new trial and acquitted in 2019. He represented himself at that trial.

He sued the city for wrongful conviction and reached a $4 million settlement in January 2025.

Bennett did not respond to KYW Newsradio’s request for comment. CPOC’s executive director also did not respond to a request for comment.

This is a breaking news story and will be updated. Listen to KYW Newsradio for the latest.