The District Attorney in Philadelphia knows unmitigated police misconduct erodes the public trust, yet refuses to seek justice on behalf of Mr. Brandon Tate-Brown.
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He’s often talked about by activists as callous and without a conscious, a man who’s willing to sell his soul and do whatever it takes to advance politically.
But despite his shortcomings, Mr. Seth Williams, the District Attorney of Philadelphia, is capable of empathy and he, even if there’s never an admission from him about this, knows the activists who protested outside his office on Thursday evening have a legitimate gripe with the system he represents.
You see, on July 17th, 2014, at the top of the afternoon, Mr. Williams, joined by the Philadelphia Police Commissioner, was discussing during a press conference the case of Mr. Darrin Manning, a young black man who claimed a white police officer in January of 2014 squeezed and ruptured his testicles during a stop-and-frisk at 15th & Girard Avenue.
Mr. Williams, who mentioned that a grand jury found that no excessive force was used, said:
“Had in fact the police done what people said they had done, and gotten away with it, again it would’ve eroded the public confidence and trust in the criminal justice system.”
Well, now, in September of 2015, activists affiliated with the Philly Coalition for REAL Justice have repeatedly expressed that they have no trust in the criminal justice system here in Philadelphia, nor any confidence in Mr. Williams, because a rookie Philadelphia police officer killed Mr. Brandon Tate-Brown while unarmed and fleeing on December 15th, 2014; lied about why he shot the 26 year-old – he originally stated Mr. Tate-Brown was reaching into his car for a gun and new evidence later showed that was completely false – and was cleared of any criminal wrong-doing by Mr. Williams, who called Mr. Tate-Brown’s death a tragedy but not a crime.
Mr. Williams is a hypocrite, and deep down inside, I imagine he knows that. You see, it was during that same press conference in July of 2014 where the city’s top prosecutor called himself a “minister of justice who’s responsible for protecting the integrity of the criminal justice system.”
He said, and I quote, “seeking justice means holding offenders accountable; protecting the innocent and preserving the rights of all.”
He continued:
“Justice also requires, at times, the representation and the presentation of the truth.”
In this one case, which has played out in the public for almost a year now, Mr. Williams has betrayed every sentence uttered about his affinity for truth and justice.
It is the belief of the activists who halted rush hour traffic on Thursday afternoon in front of the DA’s office that Mr. Williams knowingly abetted in the cover up of Mr. Tate-Brown’s death.
Ms. Erica Mines, the only member of the coalition who was arrested during the demonstration, said, at the onset of the protest, that she and her comrades convened to demand Mr. Williams and Mr. Ramsey, the celebrated police commissioner, do the “job that our tax dollars pay them to do,” adding “we don’t pay them to cover up murders.”
Ms. Mines also stated the group intended to block traffic until Mr. Williams met with the people and the family of Mr. Tate-Brown, which included Mr. Asa Khalif, an activist also affiliated with the coalition.
Ms. Mines’ demand for a meeting wasn’t her first – a month ago she and Mr. Khalif stormed the DA’s office lobby and protested for nearly thirty minutes – nor was it the first from a constituent wanting to address police misconduct.
On July 24, 2014, a protest was held in front of the DA’s office in regards to Mr. Manning’s case and Ms. Pam Africa, a member of the MOVE organization, called Mr. Williams a “low life, stinking, vile, contemptible person,” a man who “will not deal with the community.”
Ms. Africa that day uttered a self-fulfilling prophecy:
“If he thinks this is the end of the demonstrations on him, the mother f*cker better stop and think again.”
This afternoon’s protest was the second one relating to Mr. Tate-Brown in front of the DA’s office, but the first one to result in an arrest.
Ms. Mines, understanding her actions would soon result in her being placed in police custody, refused to move out of the traffic’s way, chanting the entire time: “If we don’t get no justice, you don’t get no peace.”
The scene downtown this afternoon was anything but peaceful.
Horns from cars stuck in traffic blared and people were shouting at the protesters, and some shouted at police, questioning why the activists were able to get away with bringing Center City traffic to a stand-still.
Several protesters shouted back at the drivers, altering them to the fact they gave zero f*cks about their inconvenience.
Mr. Williams appeared on live radio last week and briefly addressed Mr. Tate-Brown’s case, saying “no new evidence exist.”
But the activists here don’t see it that way. The June 2015 admission from the police commissioner that Mr. Tate-Brown was in fact NOT reaching into his car for a gun when killed, but was instead unarmed and fleeing, constitutes to them as new evidence that wasn’t available to officials before, not to mention a video is now made public that shows Mr. Tate-Brown at the trunk of his car when shot, not at the passenger side door, though that’s where his body was positioned in crime scene photos.
So that’s where the accusation by activists of a cover-up comes from and that why there’s a demand to re-open the criminal investigation into Mr. Tate-Brown’s death.
Mr. Williams continues being insubordinate and activists are continuing to be assertive.
Officer Nicholas Carelli has literally gotten away with murder and is still patrolling communities in Philadelphia, and that outrages the activists who believe he is a danger to Philadelphians, and it further widens the trust deficit that exist in many cities as it relates to police and politicians.
But again, Mr. Williams understand this rage, because his words before, in a case with similar complexities, were:
“Had in fact the police done what people said they had done, and gotten away with it, again it would’ve eroded the public confidence and trust in the criminal justice system.”
* Tune into 900amWURD or 900amWURD.com every Friday evening at 6:30pm to hear me relive #TheWeekThatWas*
Thanks for reading. Until next time, I’m Flood the Drummer® & I’m Drumming for JUSTICE!™
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Photo: Ms. Erica Mines, the only protester to get arrested Thursday afternoon during a demonstration outside the Office of the District Attorney, holds a sign while yelling in the face of a Philadelphia police officer/C. Norris – ©2015