Police Captain Stuart McCoullum is clearly a Marvel fan. Walking into his 14th District office, you immediately note the Thanos memorabilia – with the titular character's glove, sword and likeness enshrined around the room.
McCoullum’s association with the Marvel movie’s main antagonist stems from his commitment and drive. While differing in ideology from the villainous character, McCoullum sees Thanos as someone who gives 100% to whatever task he takes on.
“We were all born with different gifts, it's just what you do with it. I want to maximize …
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Police Captain Stuart McCoullum is clearly a Marvel fan. Walking into his 14th District office, you immediately note the Thanos memorabilia – with the titular character's glove, sword and likeness enshrined around the room.
McCoullum’s association with the Marvel movie’s main antagonist stems from his commitment and drive. While differing in ideology from the villainous character, McCoullum sees Thanos as someone who gives 100% to whatever task he takes on.
“We were all born with different gifts, it's just what you do with it. I want to maximize anything that I'm able to do,” McCoullum told the Local. “I never want to be sitting on my bed, if I live to be elderly, and just look back on things that I could have accomplished, but I didn't, because I didn't put enough into it. There's things that happened to me in my younger years where I didn't give these things 100% and I'll never feel like that again.”
March will mark one year since McCoullum took over as the captain of the 14th District, which covers Chestnut Hill, Mt. Airy, Cedarbrook and Germantown. In that time, he has sought to commit himself fully to the job, something he strives for in every aspect of his life.
In the morning before work, McCoullum works out and lifts weights, but that’s only his warmup. After work, he heads back to the gym for his evening workout, which he described as “considerably heavier.”
This daily routine intertwines with his work in the Philadelphia Police Department, an effort he’s given almost 60% of his life.
Joining the police at 19 years old, he worked throughout the city in different districts, working as a patrol officer, part of the Homicide Task Force and as a highway patrol officer which covered the entire city. This year marks McCoullum’s 27th year working for the Philadelphia Police Department.
Two years ago, the 14th District boasted a force of around 220 officers. Today, in the wake of the pandemic and subsequent departures, Captain McCoullum commands just 106 – less than half his predecessor's team. But rather than viewing this as a limitation, McCoullum took on the challenge of doing more with less.
"There's an African proverb I live by: 'Steady seas don't make skilled sailors,'" McCoullum said. “Who you really are isn't when things are plentiful. It makes it easy, it's in times of scarcity. How do you operate? What type of character do you have? What type of integrity do you have? How do you impact these people you work with every day?”
His strategy has yielded remarkable results. As of December, the 10 reported homicides in his district this year is a 47.37% drop from last year. The number of shooting incidents and victims is also down. The 108 shooting incidents is a 22.4% drop and the number of victims – 36 – is 44.62% fewer. McCoullum attributes these improvements to strategic deployment, focusing his limited resources where they can have the greatest impact.
“These are areas where the chances are almost certain that if we didn't have a strong police presence, all types of bad things would happen,” McCoullum said. “So we start there and then filter our way out. That's why people who live in an area that’s not violent say ‘I don't see a lot of officers up here.’ I don't have a lot of officers, so I have to be strategic about where I put them.”
This approach reflects his deeper connection to the district. Having grown up in West Oak Lane, McCoullum isn't just a commanding officer; he's a native son.
"I still have relatives here, childhood friends, people I remember from grade school. I usually see these people throughout the week. This isn't just a professional designation – I have a personal investment in the community."
Another area of emphasis for McCoullum is setting an example for the officers working under him. He wants his officers to be familiar faces, and people who neighbors trust.
“Coming from the area, there is a little bit of credibility there,” McCoullum said. “I can go down any one of these streets here and I'm gonna see someone who knows me, who grew up with me.”
McCoullum speaks with nostalgia about the times when community members knew their local officers by name, just as they knew their mail carriers and sanitation workers. But for McCoullum, this isn't just a fond memory – it's a blueprint for the future. Under his command, the 14th District is working to rebuild these personal connections, one interaction at a time.
“Each district usually takes on the personality of the commanding officer,” McCoullum said. “The number one thing I say to everyone here: officers, sergeants, lieutenants, even the civilians we have, is to treat someone the way you would want to be treated. It’s the bare minimum.”