Commish to investigate cop who broke rules to take suburban post

ROCHELLE BILAL, the Philadelphia police officer who championed the rights of her black colleagues as Guardian Civic League president, has been quietly working a side job in violation of city police rules.

When a Daily News reporter asked Police Commissioner Charles H. Ramsey about Bilal's secret gig on Thursday, he immediately called the police Internal Affairs Bureau and ordered an investigation.

"They're taking a look at when she was working out there and whether she has started already," Ramsey said. "We're going to see if anything improper was done."

The Philadelphia Police Department prohibits outside employment "for any other department or political subdivision of any municipal, state or federal agency . . . [except] a military reserve unit."

Council members in the Delaware County burough of Colwyn hired Bilal in September as public-safety director, Mayor Daniel Rutland said.

Rutland, a Republican, vetoed the creation of the position and claims Council's Democratic majority hired Bilal without a public vote.

While details of government jobs are public record - including salaries, hire dates and job duties - even Rutland was unable to get specifics. Bilal's position is not listed in the borough's 2013 budget.

In fact, on Colwyn's website, the pages dedicated to the borough's budget and meeting minutes both say "Coming Soon."

Council President Tonette Pray refused to discuss any Colwyn business with a Daily News reporter.

"I really don't give out information. I really don't give interviews," Pray said.

When asked about Bilal's duties and how tax dollars are being spent, Pray replied: "I don't answer any questions. My bottom line is I don't give out information."

Bilal acknowledged that she has been working for Colwyn since September but declined to say how many hours a week she puts in there.

She characterized her Colwyn work as "part-time consulting" that is "rolling into" the position of public-safety director sometime this month.

She said she hasn't retired from Philly yet.

"I don't want anyone to mess up my move now," Bilal said.

Bilal said she initially wasn't aware working for another police department violated Philly's rules.

"When I consulted with my lawyer, he said: 'It shouldn't be any problem, because you're a civilian employee,' " Bilal said.

But when her Philly supervisors informed her such employment was prohibited, she said, she decided to retire and take the Colwyn job. She declined to say when her supervisors told her of the rule violation.

"That's not a problem because I was ready to go anyway," Bilal said. "There is nothing here to dig up, really."

In the meantime, Ramsey has asked Internal Affairs to determine Bilal's hire date in Colwyn and find out if she followed police procedure.

"She's supposed to be retiring over here and starting over there. I just don't know when," Ramsey said. "She's currently a member of this department and she did say she was retiring and taking a job out there.

"I've asked Internal Affairs to look into whether she put in the proper paperwork for secondary employment," Ramsey added. "Right now, I don't have the answers for that."

Bilal, 55, joined the Philadelphia Police Department in August 1986. Payroll records show her current salary as $64,778. Besides her full-time job, she also puts in 20 hours a week at the Guardian Civic League, according to tax records.

Her pending retirement has been an open secret in the Philadelphia Police Department, with fliers announcing her June 14 retirement party posted on bulletin boards. Payroll records show Bilal hasn't applied for the Deferred Retirement Option Plan.

As Colwyn's public-safety director, Bilal said, she has been tasked with tripling the staff of the part-time department and recommending the terminations of those not pulling their weight. She's already recommended six hires and plans to "bring [the police department] up to a better standard than what it's been used to."

Rutland said he's seen Bilal doing "police work," including conducting investigations and interviews in Colwyn.

Colwyn, which borders Southwest Philadelphia, has been roiled by racial and political tensions stemming from the 2009 ouster of white Police Chief Bryan Hills.

Pray, the borough's first black council president, is facing a federal civil-rights lawsuit alleging that she has sought to make Colwyn "brown like UPS" by eliminating white employees and referring to black cops who backed Hills as "Uncle Toms."

Bilal joined the Guardian Civic League soon after she became a Philly cop, becoming president of the 2,000-member group in 2007.

"I never consider myself as all blue," Bilal said last week of her advocacy. "I've always been black."

She said she's not worried about the racial tensions in Colwyn that led to her hiring.

"I've always taken on challenges," she said. "If you look at my career, it's been one challenge after another. So I'm excited."

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