Corner Lights On Philadelphia Police Squad Cars To Go Dark
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Philadelphia's new police commissioner took action this week to turn off the red and blue bar lights on top of squad cars.
Commissioner Richard Ross announced the directive to staff, referring to the still blue and red bar lights, not the emergency flashing colored lights.
"They'll (squad cars) be able to get there before people see that they're coming," Lieutenant John Stanford told Eyewitness News.
Former Philadelphia Commissioner Charles Ramsey mandated that squad cars have the bar lights on at all times. Stanford says the lights sometimes posed problems for officers, giving the criminals a head start.
"It gives up your positioning in terms of from a tactical standpoint, so having those lights on, it allows the bad guys to see you essentially before you arrive to a location," Stanford said.
Even though the still lights will be off, officers aren't going anywhere. They will still patrol the streets, but they will be harder to spot at night and before the sun rises.
"I think he's going to do a good job," Logan resident Aretha Joseph said of Commissioner Richard Ross.
Others want to see the lights on, insisting the lights protect neighborhoods.
"Let's keep it the way it was," Kevin Alston told Eyewitness News.
The change will not happen overnight. Some squad cars need to have the lights reset, but change is coming.