13 Philadelphia officers placed on administrative duty amid gun arrest audit

This story originally appeared on 6abc.

Thirteen police officers have been taken off the street and placed on desk duty amid an internal investigation, according to the Philadelphia Police Department.

A police department spokesperson said an audit began in March initiated by Police Internal Affairs looking into the quality of gun arrests.

The audit revealed several discrepancies that required further investigation, the spokesperson said on Monday night.

While they investigate these discrepancies, 13 police officers from four patrol districts have been placed on administrative duty.

The district attorney’s office’s data dashboard, posted as of now through October, shows gun arrests were up 26% over last year and on pace for the highest in any recent year.

The police department has not said how many cases are in question. The officers have not been identified.

The district attorney’s office has not released a statement to Action News.

John McNesby, president of the Philadelphia Fraternal Order of Police Lodge #5, said in a statement, “The DA and police department should focus their efforts on murders and shootings and not the hardworking officers attempting to keep our community safe.”