January 25, 2015

Pro-police rally held in South Philly

Event honors officers who have died in the line of duty

By Daniel Craig
PhillyVoice Staff

Thom Carroll/PhillyVoice

Joe Eastman of the Police Advisory Board speaks at the "Delaware Valley Pro-Blue Rally" on Independence Mall in Old City on January 10, 2015.

A rally was held Sunday afternoon in South Philly to show support for Philadelphia police officers. The event began at Oregon Avenue and Broad Street. Participants then walked down Broad Street to City Hall.

The rally was held to honor officers that have died in the line of duty.

RELATED STORY: Pro-blue rally at Independence Mall

Along with selling t-shirts to raise money for the Philadelphia Police Survivor's Fund, organizers took donations for the Tully family to help find the missing Christopher Tully.

The organizer of the event was a group called Taking Our South Philadelphia Streets Back, which was started by a concerned mom. Per the group's website:

TOSPSB was created by a South Philly mother on August 4th, 2013 after her 11 year old son was a victim of a crime. Carol Lanni had enough of watching her family, friends, and neighbors becoming victims. She knew that Philadelphia Police were out there doing what they could to fight crime, but perhaps there was more that she could do.

That "more" has included a youtube channel that posts security footage of alleged crimes in South Philly and other events to show support for police officers.

Those in attendance were encouraged to use the hashtag #TYPhillyPD to share pictures of the rally.