Cop Claims Local Police Department Was a Sexist Hellhole

Former Lower Providence police officer Brooke Spence of Bridgeport (right) with Lower Providence police chief Michael Jackson (photo via Lower Providence Police Department)

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Local Cop Claims Lower Providence Police Department Was a Sexist Hellhole

Everybody was all smiles in February 2022 when a judge swore Brooke Spence in as the newest member of Montgomery County’s Lower Providence Police Department. But those smiles quickly disappeared once Spence discovered the culture of the department, according to allegations set forth by Spence in a federal lawsuit she just filed against the department.

Spence, a Bridgeport resident, alleges that fellow police officer Matthew Barber made numerous sexual, sexist, and otherwise offensive comments to her. Among the comments he allegedly made: that women shouldn’t be cops; that his wife was a “bitch” because she wouldn’t have sex with him in the family minivan; that a woman who reported that she had been raped probably had not been raped and just liked rough sex; that Spence was “fat”; and that when a woman had a miscarriage, it was likely her fault.

Lower Providence police officer Robert “Bulldog” Heim (photo via Lower Providence Police Department)

The suit claims that police officer Robert Heim also made discriminatory remarks, including asking her if she was single or whether her “baby daddy” was living with her, asking whether he paid child support, and stating that women should stay home with their children.

Spence alleges that unspecified male employees in the department made inappropriate comments about women’s bodies and women’s rights in the context of a discussion about Roe v. Wade and that police officer James Crawford complained that men “had no rights” regarding abortion and that men should be able to force women to keep their baby.

According to the suit, many of these comments were made in front of Lower Providence police chief Michael Jackson as well as others in authority but no one did anything to stop the alleged behavior.

Spence says that when she complained about how she was being treated to her superiors, she received retaliation instead of help and that the department eventually fired her because she was “not a good fit” and “it’s just not working.”

Spence is seeking unspecified damages. Chief Jackson did not return a call seeking comment.

Fighting Words

Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner has been having some loud run-ins of late with local MAGA guy and wannabe conservative influencer Frank Scales. In this latest incident, Krasner told Scales to “put down Mein Kampf” and reiterated his belief that Donald Trump is a “fascist.”

Philly’s Gotta Philly

Philadelphia Register of Wills John Sabatina allegedly made a “hit list” of employees the department could fire to make way for his pals, cronies, and the pals and cronies of his pals and cronies.

Do You Know Where Your Kids Are?

Hopefully they aren’t vandalizing cars in Gloucester City lest you be charged with a crime, as some parents just learned the hard way.

From the Department of Cutbacks

Due to a lack of funding and a failure to bounce back to anything resembling pre-pandemic visitation rates, the Academy of Natural Sciences will only be open three days a week starting on October 1st.

From the Department of Food Lists

Resy just came out with “The Resy 100: Restaurants Around the Country That Define Dining Today.” And the four Philly restaurants that made the cut? Those would be Little Fish, Irwin’s, Meetinghouse and Southwark.

A food list I would tend to agree with more is a just-released list from The World’s 50 Best of the 50 best restaurants in all of North America. Philly showed up with Kalaya, Friday Saturday Sunday, and Royal Sushi and Izakaya.

By the Numbers

20: With a victory against the Bucs in the books on Sunday afternoon, that’s the number of games that the Eagles have won out of their last 21 games.

$10: Ticket price for Wednesday’s intrasquad Phillies game at Citizens Bank Park. But you’ve gotta hurry. Unsurprisingly, there aren’t many left.

$318: Starting price for standing-room-only tickets to the first Phillies postseason game, which is happening this Saturday at the ballpark. Tickets to Game 4 of a theoretical Phillies World Series game in South Philly are starting at $1,932. (If we don’t make it that far, you get a refund.)

Local Talent

Last Thursday (sorry, but I don’t run a column on Fridays or over the weekend), Yannick Nezet-Seguin led the Philadelphia Orchestra through a dazzling night of music with a major assist from Curtis Institute of Music grad and dazzler extraordinaire Yuja Wang on piano.

This was opening night for the symphony, and Yannick used the occasion as an opportunity to note the drastic change in tide in the nation. He said that while Canadians and LGBTQ people are not exactly favorites of a certain contingent in this country, he and his husband (they are both Canadian) continue to feel very safe and welcome in Philadelphia, a statement that received rousing cheers and applause from the audience. And when it came time to introduce the first song of the evening, written by Mexican composer Arturo Márquez, Yannick made a big point of saying that Márquez lived near the “Gulf of Mexico,” resulting in more rousing cheers and applause.

But the best part about the evening? Not a single cell phone went off!