From Detective Joe Murray’s Twitter feed – @PPDJoeMurray.

Detective Joe Murray, the social media savvy cop who entertained and informed followers with pithy tweets about everything from police policy to top-shelf donuts and Wrestlemania, is moving on after 11 years in West and Southwest Philly.

He announced in a March 7 tweet (natch) that he had been transferred to the PPD’s Homicide Division, a much-deserved promotion. Murray won the Richardson Dilworth Award for Innovation and Government in 2015 and didn’t shy away from calling out the highest levels of the PPD. His story made it to NPR in 2012 after the PPD’s top brass figured all his tweeting was a good idea. They did make him professionalize his Twitter handle, though, so he gave up his trademark moniker “The Fuzz” to the more official “@PPDJoeMurray.”

For 11+ years I’ve had the pleasure of working for the people of West/Southwest Philly. Yesterday I was transferred to the Homicide Division

— Joseph Murray (@PPDJoeMurray) March 7, 2017

We recently asked Murray a few questions about his time on the West side.  Continue Reading

Detective Joe Murray of PPD’s Southwest Detectives Division with his father at a recent family wedding (Photo provided by Det. Murray)

Use Twitter? Then you know Detective Joseph Murray of the Southwest Detectives Division (or at least you should).

Det. Murray, known around West Philly as “The Tweeting Cop,” began using message boards in 2006 as a way to connect with the community he serves. That social media engagement evolved into Twitter three years later, when the 33-year-old detective opened an account under the (retired) handle, @TheFuzz9143. Now tweeting under @PPDJoeMurray, Det. Murray updates West Philadelphians about crime, missing (and sometimes then found) pets, and even his favorite Pearl Jam album—while also opening the digital floor for tips and feedback—on a near-daily basis.

But Det. Murray’s community involvement doesn’t stop with the computer screen. Well aware that his position with the Philadelphia Police Department (PPD) is considered a “desk job,” the third generation police officer makes a concerted effort to also have a physical presence, whether it’s through cruising West Philly in his car, buying coffee at Green Line or Rival Brothers, popping into a few local businesses for a quick hello, or checking up on old complaints he’s received. “It’s up to me to engage people so I try to do my best,” Murray, who was promoted to detective in 2005 at 25-years-old, wrote to West Philly Local in an email.

And his efforts are noticed by the city at large. This September, Det. Murray, along with 52 other emergency responders (including Southwest colleague Lt. John Walker), received an Award of Valor from the National Liberty Museum for his valiant work nearly 14 years on the force—which includes closing the 2011 triple shooting at Lorena’s Grocery Store on the 800 block of North 50^th Street. The shooting, which resulted in the deaths of siblings Porfirio and Lina Nunez, and Porfirio’s wife Carmen—employees of Lorena’s Grocery Store—is one of Murray’s recent cases that he finds most heartbreaking among the “far too many.”

“A family from the Dominican Republic was assassinated for no reason. A robbery with nothing taken,” Det. Murray wrote to West Philly Local. “That gets my blood pressure up even typing it now. There was satisfaction when we caught the killers but that does not bring the family back.”

For Det. Murray, the cases that “help everyone involved”, though, balance the distressing ones like the 2011 triple murder. And he’s especially encouraged when he never sees a person he’s booked or their name again. “I have come across thousands of people as a detective. A lot of times I see them a few years down the line working in a restaurant or at a store. That makes you feel good to see,” he wrote.

West Philly Local had a chance to chat with Det. Murray about being honored by the National Liberty Museum, his love for West Philly, the importance of engaging the community, and—of course—donuts.

Continue Reading

SEPTA El Station at 60th and Market (Google Street View image).

It was a violent end to 2015 in West Philadelphia, with reports of multiple shootings, many of which were fatal, in the past few weeks. Unfortunately, more shootings have already been reported in the new year. A 35-year-old man was shot multiple times and critically wounded on early Sunday afternoon outside of the SEPTA El station at 60th and Market, bringing the total number of people shot in the same area since Christmas to three, according to police.

Officer Joe Murray of the Southwest Detectives Division, known to many local residents as “the tweeting cop,” says it’s a major problem. He took to social media last night to raise awareness and to call for more police presence in the area, which is a busy El stop, a business area, and “the biggest drug block in SW division.”

@poseidonguy1 everyday. Put one there every single day. That’s how it was when I was a cop out there and there wasn’t an issue.

— Joseph Murray (@PPDJoeMurray) January 3, 2016

According to Murray, whose tweeting efforts were featured today on Philadelphia Magazine’s website, violence in the area can be reduced only through a joint cooperation among police, residents and business owners.

@phillymag @joelmmathis Challenging everyone to step up. Us, business owners, residents, media. You name it. We all want violence reduced.

— Joseph Murray (@PPDJoeMurray) January 4, 2016

If you want more information or want to make your voice heard, the next community meeting with 18th District police officers (PSA 1) will take place on Thursday, Jan. 7, at Christian Compassion Hall at 6130 Cedar Ave. The meeting begins at 6 p.m. Please bring your questions and concerns. If you have questions, please email or call 18th District: police.co_18@phila.gov, 215-686-3180.

UPDATE (1/13/2016): There will be an emergency meeting at the Bryant School at 60th and Cedar on Thursday, Jan. 14, 6 p.m. to discuss the recent spike in violent crimes in the area.

UPDATE: According to police, the following bike thefts have been reported in the area since Sept. 24 in addition to the incident described below:

Sept. 24: 48th and Regent; 900 block of S. 46th St.
Sept. 26: 43rd and Sansom
Sept. 27: 200 block of S. 42nd; 200 block of S. 44th; 47th and Pine

A West Philly Local reader says that his two bicycles were stolen from his front porch on the 200 block of S. Melville Street in the early morning of Monday, Sept. 28. The whole incident was captured by a surveillance camera on the building (see image below). The stills from the video that we received show two young unidentified males checking out the bikes on the porch at 3:43 a.m. on Monday. The reader says that the video shows the same two men taking the bikes. The theft has been reported to the police.  Continue Reading

Just recently we reported a high number of car break-ins in the Cedar Park area and vicinity. On Friday, April 3, undercover cops from the 18th Police District arrested a man who was breaking into a van parked near 47th and Larchwood. The incident happened at around 12:45 p.m., according to a tweet by Joe Murray of the Southwest Detectives.

When the unidentified man was brought in for questioning he confessed to 10 more thefts from vehicles. The man has 26 prior arrests, including 16 for burglary and theft, according to Murray.

It is not known yet which car break-ins this person had a hand in. Over the past month, there have been at least 15 thefts from vehicles reported in the area between S. 48th and 51st Streets and Spruce St. and Baltimore Ave., according to Crime Reports. Also there were four car break-ins just south of Baltimore Ave between 46th and 48th.

Police are looking for three men between 18 and 20 years old who they say have been involved in at least four robberies in West Philly over the last two weeks. The first robbery took place on Feb. 8 near 38th and Baring in Mantua, according to police, when the suspects robbed a pizza delivery man at gunpoint. An undisclosed amount of cash was taken in that robbery. Police say the same three men used a gun to rob a 27-year-old woman near her apartment entrance at 44th and Pine on Feb. 12. They reportedly took the woman’s phone and purse.

The third robbery took place in Powelton Village, near 31st and Hamilton on Sunday, when the men robbed a 20-year-old woman, also at gunpoint, near her apartment, according to police.

The latest robbery happened on Monday, Feb. 16, when the suspects responded to a Craigslist ad by a person who was selling a paintball gun. The seller brought the paintball gun to a location near 41st and Spring Garden where he was robbed at gunpoint by the same three men, according to police. They reportedly took the man’s laptop and cell phone.  Continue Reading