Township: Pa. officers were justified in stopping shovelers
A suburban Philadelphia police superintendent says officers acted appropriately when they stopped and questioned people shoveling snow.
Superintendent Michael McGrath released his findings Wednesday at a public hearing in Lower Merion Township.
He denied allegations the officers engaged in racial profiling.
McGrath says officers stopped five men during the Jan. 27 storm because they were going door-to-door soliciting shoveling work without a required permit.
He says children wouldn’t have needed a permit.
Resident Deborah Saldana raised concerns about profiling after officers stopped two youthful-looking black men she’d hired to clear her driveway.
Township commissioner Jenny Brown says Saldana’s post was “an irresponsible use of social media” and contained errors, including characterizing the shovelers as children.
Some commissioners said the 1964 ordinance requiring a $50 permit for door-to-door solicitation is antiquated.
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