Five active-duty Philadelphia police officers and four former officers have been criminally charged, accused of receiving improper payments from a city-funded youth boxing program, officials announced Friday. One of the former officers charged founded the program. <\/p>\n
The officers are accused of collecting payments from the youth boxing program,\u00a0“Guns Down, Gloves Up,”<\/a>\u00a0while also receiving their regular salaries, and in some cases, while on the clock. The charges were filed by the Philadelphia District Attorney following a joint investigation by the police department’s Internal Affairs Division that began in 2023.<\/p>\n Philadelphia Police Commissioner Kevin Bethel said in a news release that the five active-duty officers were suspended for 30 days with the intent to dismiss. They are all facing charges including conspiracy, theft by unlawful taking and theft by deception.<\/p>\n The “Guns Down, Gloves Up” boxing program was launched in 2020 by Akil to give boys and girls ages 10 to 16 a safe outlet through boxing, this amid record homicide rates in the city at the time.<\/p>\n