Frank Rizzo

Mayor of Philadelphia

Francis Lazarro Rizzo (October 23, 1920 – July 16, 1991) was an American police officer and politician. He served as Philadelphia police commissioner from 1968 to 1971 and mayor of Philadelphia from 1972 to 1980.

He was a member of the Democratic Party throughout the entirety of his career in public office. He switched to the Republican Party in 1986 and campaigned as a Republican for the final five years of his life.

Like most of his contemporaries, Rizzo was opposed to the construction of public housing in established neighborhoods, most of which at the time housed majority-white populations.

Rizzo was barred from running for a third term in office by the Philadelphia City Charter. He attempted to vote in a charter change to allow him to attempt a run for reelection but was soundly defeated after urging supporters to "Vote white", which he later admitted was "a poor choice of words".

Before, during, and after his tenure as police commissioner, the Philadelphia police department engaged in patterns of police brutality, intimidation, coercion, and disregard for constitutional rights, in particular toward the black community.

The patterns of police brutality were documented in a Pulitzer Prize-winning Philadelphia Inquirer series by William K. Marimow and Jon Neuman.