Having been a public servant in the ranks of the Philadelphia Police Department; and up through them to the highest office of our City, it has been my good fortune to be associated with many fine, sincere and dedicated people. Through the following pages you will meet a prime example of one who I am proud to say, served in our department during my tenure and who I think of as friend as well as a brother officer.
One who unhesitatingly volunteered to serve without the thought of "what's in it for me?" Whose twenty-some years of service is unblemished by any cloud of brutality or corruption; an accusation so commonly labeled on enforcement officers who worked the crime-ridden streets. A man whose life was also shared with the kids on his street as he coached or refereed their sports on his own time; a man who believed in trying to make the world a better place in his own way by doing his job to the best of his ability not satisfied to just put in his time. An expert sharpshooter and yet not a killer; with an arrest record resulting in 99% convictions, he wasn't just a uniform and a badge number to me. He was one of our finest.
And yet, with all of that, Jim McGrath is a regular guy who enjoys a practical joke and kept his good sense of humor even while lying in a hospital bed where I visited him on the evening he was shot.
He wasn't college educated, but his language is free of vulgarity and obscenity although he was over-exposed to it in his work. He and his beautiful, petite wife, Cass, have raised two sons who are now police officers. However, it is not my intention to tell his story; I leave that to another. Let it suffice to say that I am honored that he asked me to introduce you to Jim McGrath -- the First Granny Cop.