Frank Rizzo, American police officer and politician, 93rd Mayor of Philadelphia (b. 1920)
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. However, he later switched to the Republican Party in 1986 and campaigned as a Republican for the final five years of his life.
As mayor, Rizzo was a strong opponent of desegregation of Philadelphia's schools, and prevented the construction of public housing in majority-white neighborhoods. While running for a third term, Rizzo urged supporters to "Vote White". During his tenure as police commissioner and mayor, 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.