Official Greater Philadelphia Area Crime Thread (too hot, valid, Thursday)

[MPK21]

Krasner finally being checked for rewriting the law (hard to believe about ''progressive DAs''). Krasner not only sets social policy and opts to not enforce some laws (depending on who is involved, he also likes to rewrite the law as needed). Remember, Krasner is the top law enforcement official in Philly:

Supreme Court sides with former Philly cop facing murder charges and says DA Krasner can’t ‘rewrite the law’

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court on Wednesday rejected a challenge by Philadelphia prosecutors to the state law governing how and when officers are permitted to use deadly force — the latest development in a long-running legal battle over the murder prosecution of former city police officer Ryan Pownall.

In a 4-2 decision, the high court said that although it agrees police shootings warrant “serious examination, by every facet of government as well as those outside of it,” District Attorney Larry Krasner’s office had chosen the wrong venue — Pownall’s trial — to try to upend the statute outlining when it is legal for police to fire their weapons.

“Doing as the DAO asks ... would essentially criminalize conduct the General Assembly has deemed noncriminal,” wrote Justice Kevin Dougherty.

In an unusual step, Dougherty also filed a blistering concurring opinion criticizing Krasner’s office for its handling of Pownall’s case.

Without suggesting any remedy or potential penalty, Dougherty criticized nearly every step of the prosecution so far, saying Krasner’s office had not properly instructed grand jurors about the law when the panel was deciding whether to charge Pownall; went to “disturbing” lengths to prevent Pownall from having a preliminary hearing; and then, before trial, sought to “rewrite the law and retroactively apply it to Pownall’s case.”

“Little that has happened in this case up to this point reflects procedural justice,” Dougherty wrote. “On the contrary, the DAO’s prosecution of Pownall appears to be ‘driven by a win-at-all-cost office culture’ that treats police officers differently than other criminal defendants. This is the antithesis of what the law expects of a prosecutor.”

Jane Roh, a spokesperson for Krasner’s office, would not say if prosecutors planned to challenge the ruling, including by possibly appealing it to the U.S. Supreme Court. In a statement, Roh said: “The Pennsylvania Supreme Court exists to review the constitutionality of legislation. They failed to meet that obligation here. We respectfully disagree with the majority opinion.”

Pownall’s attorneys did not provide immediate comment.

The opinions marked a blow to the attempt by Krasner’s office to change the state’s use-of-force law for police.

Pownall’s case remains on track to go to trial. It was not immediately clear Wednesday when he might appear before a jury; a trial date scheduled for next month was expected to be delayed.

» READ MORE: Ex-Philly cop Ryan Pownall is charged in fatal on-duty shooting; FOP calls decision ‘absurd disgrace’

Krasner’s office charged Pownall with murder in 2018 for fatally shooting 30-year-old David Jones, who had run from Pownall after being stopped while riding a dirt bike and illegally carrying a firearm in North Philadelphia a year earlier. Pownall was fired not long after the shooting.

Prosecutors said the shooting of Jones “was not necessary to secure his apprehension — an apprehension that would never have been necessary if Pownall had not incited the confrontation.”

Pownall’s attorneys have long said that he was legally justified in firing his gun. And the police union, which has supported Pownall, called his arrest an “absurd disgrace.” He was the first Philadelphia officer charged with murder over an on-duty shooting in two decades (a judge later downgraded the case to third-degree murder and related charges).

In 2019, just weeks before Pownall’s trial was set to begin, prosecutors asked the judge to give jurors instructions about the state’s use-of-force law that differed from the state’s criminal code. Prosecutors said that was necessary because state law permits officers to shoot fleeing suspects even if there is no threat of imminent death or serious injury. Prosecutors say that violates the Pennsylvania Constitution and the Fourth Amendment.

Pownall’s attorneys called the action “a thinly veiled attempt to bolster [a] weak case” and an inappropriate effort to change the law shortly before trial and retroactively apply it against Pownall.

Common Pleas Court Judge Barbara A. McDermott declined to grant the prosecutors’ request to change jury instructions, saying she had “no authority to summarily rewrite portions of a criminal statute.”

Prosecutors appealed that ruling, first to the Superior Court and then the Supreme Court. The high court on Wednesday affirmed McDermott’s decision and also signaled it did not believe Pownall could or should be tried on a law if it changed in the middle of his case.

Dougherty wrote in part: “A ruling in the DAO’s favor on its constitutional issue would, quite literally, result in an after-the-fact judicial alteration of the substantive criminal law with which Pownall has been charged.”

In a dissenting opinion, Justice David N. Wecht said he agreed with that principle. But he also said that he believed prosecutors were correct in viewing portions of the state’s use-of-force law as unconstitutional, and that the majority opinion “leaves the important questions implicated in this case unanswered, not just today but perhaps indefinitely.”

[cpomp]

Why we can't have nice things...

Philly pool shuts down for season after staffers report assault and vandalism by swimmers they tried to kick out

https://www.inquirer.com/news/philad...-20220721.html

[ilovephilly79]

Originally Posted by cpomp

Why we can't have nice things...

Philly pool shuts down for season after staffers report assault and vandalism by swimmers they tried to kick out

https://www.inquirer.com/news/philad...-20220721.html

Is this really a surprise? It's a recreation center in Kensington. There are legions of unruly people that come from broken families that weren't taught anything about manners or respect. Personally, I'm surprised there isn't more violence at the community pools in the city.

[ilovephilly79]

https://www.inquirer.com/news/philly...-20220722.html

[AshbyQuin]

Originally Posted by ilovephilly79

Is this really a surprise? It's a recreation center in Kensington. There are legions of unruly people that come from broken families that weren't taught anything about manners or respect. Personally, I'm surprised there isn't more violence at the community pools in the city.

Exactly.

I don’t know why people keep posting crime incidents in Kensington to say “see look, the city is going to sh*t” when Kensington has been a dump the past 40 years.


The shooting on the septa platform is a better example

[LK-Guy]

Originally Posted by cpomp

Why we can't have nice things...

Philly pool shuts down for season after staffers report assault and vandalism by swimmers they tried to kick out

https://www.inquirer.com/news/philad...-20220721.html

I cannot understand why any of you want to still live in Philly.

[Redddog]

Originally Posted by LK-Guy

I cannot understand why any of you want to still live in Philly.

It's becoming more and more of an argument.

I am a huge Philly homer. But if you can't walk to the corner without an altercation, none of the great things about Philly matter.

For the first time, we're actually thinking about a change. It's not worth it if you can't enjoy the great parts of this town.

[JamesJay64]

Originally Posted by LK-Guy

I cannot understand why any of you want to still live in Philly.

Philly grew in population by .8% from April 2021 to April 2022, while many areas such as San Francisco and Brooklyn have not grown at any point since then. Point being - plenty of people want to live here.

I enjoy living here and have not witnessed a single crime occur in Center City during my two years here, besides a fender bender hit-and-run and a lady running out of Barnes and Noble with a book - and I walk everywhere day and night.

I'm not going to derail the crime thread, but despite some bad headlines many people do want to live here. Crime, reputation, and leadership are the only things holding the city back from a meteoric rise.

[Muinteoir]

Originally Posted by LK-Guy

I cannot understand why any of you want to still live in Philly.

"LK-Guy" on another thread: "Also, no one cares who you are voting for."

Also, no one cares what you do and do not understand.

[cpomp]

Thoughts?

Stan Silverman: Philadelphia's increase in gun violence reflects an erosion of civil society

https://www.bizjournals.com/philadel...Pos=0#cxrecs_s

Philadelphia faces an ever-growing increase in gun violence. Mayor Jim Kenney and Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw make obligatory statements condemning the growing number of homicides in Philadelphia, but they come up short on solutions to the problem.

Through July 11, 300 homicides have been committed in Philadelphia this year, and by the time you read this, that number will have been surpassed. Given the current trend, homicides in 2022 will significantly exceed the 562 committed in 2021. That’s more than double those committed in 2018. These numbers don’t include the people who were injured by gun violence.

We are watching the erosion of civil society. Crimes are occurring in Philadelphia that shake our sensibilities. Carjackings have tripled since 2019. Earlier this month, a boy and girl, both 14 years old, were charged with using a traffic cone to murder a 73-year-old man. On July 14, police say a 14-year-old boy fired a gun multiple times at a man on the 15th Street platform of the Market-Frankford subway station at 12:30 p.m., a time of day when the subway station is crowded with passengers. People are rethinking their use of the subway for fear of being a victim of violent crime.

In October 2021, Philadelphia City Council passed Driver Equity legislation, designed to address the disparate number of traffic stops among different races for minor infractions. One wonders if the unintended consequence of this legislation, passed for good reason, has contributed to the disrespect of our laws.
Crime in Philadelphia is having a direct impact on city life. On July 13, Philadelphia Councilmember Cindy Bass announced that she was canceling her annual summer event series due to the threat of gun violence. In a letter to her constituents, she wrote, “Your safety is my number one priority.” Other organizations are also canceling events.

Gun violence has an impact on small business owners, as they decide whether to limit their hours of operation, or abandon Philadelphia.
Many blame the proliferation of guns as the cause of the growing violence in our city. Guns are in the hands of high-risk people. Moving forward, our leaders need to ensure the tightest screening and severe criminal penalties if screening laws are flouted. Some Republicans will claim this is a violation of the Second Amendment. They have yet to propose a credible path toward a reduction of gun crimes.

Some people have proposed increasing the practice of “stop and frisk” by the police. An April 2020 report filed with the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania states that “hit rates for weapons on frisks of people who police claim to have a reasonable suspicion [of being] ‘armed and dangerous’ remains close to negligible levels.” The practice of stop and frisk disproportionately impacts people of color, further undermining the trust that this community has in the police, which is counter-productive.

Regarding the number of guns already in the community, that train has left the station. The only practical way to reduce gun violence is through the leadership of parents, teachers, religious leaders and our elected officials.