A former Philly cop used a Porsche seized during a drug bust for his stepdaughter’s prom
The officer had impounded the 2018 Cayenne during a narcotics investigation last year.
A former Philadelphia police officer has pleaded guilty to taking a seized 2018 Porsche SUV from an impound yard and using it for his stepdaughter’s prom last April, District Attorney Larry Krasner announced Friday.
James Coolen Jr., 47, who resigned from the force in October before surrendering to face charges, was sentenced to one year of probation after his guilty plea Thursday to a misdemeanor count of unauthorized use of a motor vehicle, Krasner said in a statement.
According to prosecutors, Coolen seized the Porsche Cayenne during a drug investigation in April and placed it in the Narcotics Bureau Headquarters’ secure impound lot.
Two weeks later, the police Internal Affairs Unit opened an investigation after receiving information from the bureau about the possible theft or unauthorized use of the vehicle, officials said.
Surveillance video showed Coolen drove into the secure parking lot with his personal pickup truck on April 25 and then left in the Porsche, officials said. Two days later, the Porsche was returned to the secure parking lot and the driver, not identified on video because it was dark, drove off in Coolen’s pickup truck.
Prosecutors said other evidence, including GPS data from the Porsche, showed Coolen had used the SUV for his stepdaughter’s prom.
“James Coolen betrayed the public trust and his fellow Philadelphia police officers when he improperly and illegally used a 2018 Porsche Cayenne SUV, that was impounded as evidence in a case that he was assigned to, as transportation for his stepdaughter’s prom,” Krasner said in the statement. “Coolen has since turned himself in, resigned from the Police Department, and taken responsibility for his crime. It is never easy, but it is always right, to hold a friend or colleague accountable when they do wrong.”