FOP President Criticizes DA's Comments To Academy Cadets

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- The president of Philadelphia's police union calls comments made by the city's District Attorney Larry Krasner "outrageous" in a letter sent to officers.

It comes after a presentation Krasner made to cadets graduating from the academy.

Larry Krasner spoke with a group of Philly police cadets on Tuesday, a spokesman for the district attorney confirms.

FOP President John McNesby says at that presentation, that he did not attend, Krasner told cadets how they should handle threatening shooting situations.

"Nobody should be in there commenting to anyone about any type of training unless you are an academy staff person," said McNesby.

McNesby wrote a letter calling the comments dangerous.

Krasner's spokesman called the letter wildly inaccurate, and says the DA laid out hypothetical scenarios to illustrate when an officer would or would not be charged.

"Bottom line is, now you are an elected public official, and you are charged with upholding the law. You can have your personal feelings, but you have to have professional feelings because you were elected," McNesby said.

A full statement from the District Attorney's Office can be read below:

"The FOP's letter is a wildly inaccurate version of an event its writer did not attend. District Attorney Krasner spoke by invitation to a group of cadets at an event organized by the Guardian Civic League, an organization of African-American police officers. During that event, he laid out several hypothetical scenarios where the DA's office would charge or not charge officers based on the facts and the law. As part of those examples, he talked about the use of force in different situations. He did not instruct the cadets on their use of force. The purpose of the event was to assist young officers in avoiding problems during their careers. District Attorney Krasner stands by the statements he made at that time."

In:
• Philadelphia