Ignacio “Nacho” Flores, the owner of Los Taquitos de Puebla on Ninth Street in South Philadelphia, stood in front of city representatives with microphone in hand, recounting how a few weeks ago he was closing the restaurant when someone entered his establishment and threatened to kill him.
Philadelphia police reports show 36 violent crimes taking place this year through July on the Ninth Street blocks where most of the restaurants represented at the meeting are located. According to Jasmine Reilly, a Police Department spokesperson contacted after the meeting, the people who staff the 911 line are public officials but not police officers.
But it was clear that many at the meeting were just as dissatisfied with policing in the area as Flores is. “We know that immigrants are disproportionately impacted by violence because there are acts of hate, but the police are not working,” Nuñez said after the meeting.