Assault, Terroristic Threat Charges Filed Against Philly Cop

ROXBOROUGH, PHILADELPHIA — A Philadelphia Police officer has been charged with assault, making terroristic threats, and more charged after authorities said he hit several people and used racial and homophobic slurs at a Roxborough bar.

Sgt. James Garber, 48, was charged in connection with a November 2022 incident.

According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, Garber — who was fired from the department in 2011 after being accused of hitting his wife but later reinstated — is accused of hitting a detective several times, spitting in a woman's face, and using homophobic slurs against her at Maria’s Ristorante in Roxborough.

This was all due to someone changing music in the bar to hip hop, which Garber is accused of using a racial slur to describe, the Inquirer reports.

Police told the Inquirer that Garber was suspended for 30 days with the intent to be dismisses after those 30 days.

Garber is slated for a March 23 preliminary hearing and was released on $15,000 unsecured bail, court records show.

Patch has reached out to Philadelphia Police for more information on Garber's arrest and status with the department and will update the story when additional information is made available.