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Philadelphia police smoking ban lifted

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A department-wide ban on smoking on-duty or in uniform was dropped for now by Philiadelphia Interim Police Commissioner Sylvester Johnson.

In October, Johnson´s predecessor put out the order after a newspaper photograph showed an officer smok-ing as he helped lift a man in a wheel-chair outside a burning building. But the Fraternal Order of Police objected and filed a complaint with the Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board. The commissioner decided to rescind the policy now and negotiate with the FOP on a compromise that would probably only prohibit smoking in cars and in buildings, according to Karen Simmons, an attorney for the Philadelphia Police Department.

Both the New York City and Los Angeles police departments strictly prohibit uniformed officers from smoking in public.