Philly Police Commissioner Advising Ferguson Officials

Ramsey: "I mean it just has to stop, and we got to figure out a way to do it.”

Matt Rourke/AP

Matt Rourke/AP

Philadelphia Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey is also president of the Major Cities Chiefs Association — and it is in the latter role this week that he’s been advising officials in Ferguson, Missouri, on how to end the violence plaguing that city since an officer there shot and killed an unarmed black man, Michael Brown.

Fox 29 reports:

“People are getting shot as a result of this; businesses are being burned and looted. I mean it just has to stop, and we got to figure out a way to do it,” said Ramsey.

Ramsey says he had a conference call with St. Louis County authorities on Friday, and says order needs to be maintained before anything else can take place.

“You have people there that are there to legitimately protest, to exercise their First Amendment and that needs to be respected and it has been respected, but the other kind of behavior just simply cannot be tolerated,” said Ramsey.

In related news, protesters gathered peacefully in West Philadelphia Tuesday to demonstrate their solidarity with protesters in Ferguson.