8.29.18: Philadelphia – (Opinion/Politics): Mr. Josh Shapiro, Pennsylvania’s Attorney General, this month is enjoying a type of ubiquity in national media that has largely evaded him since assuming the office in 2017.
The bespectacled 47-year-old, in an August 27th article, is declared by The New York Times to be the “man behind the bombshell investigation of clergy sexual abuse.”
Indeed, upon his election, Mr. Shapiro inherited a secret grand jury investigation and opted to continue it with the full resources of his office. The outcome was an August 14th grand jury report which revealed that, decades ago, more than 1,000 children were molested by 301 priests in six Pennsylvania dioceses. As expected with such an egregious narrative, word spread quickly throughout the globe and, since then, Mr. Shapiro’s star has never shined brighter.
But closer to home, in Philadelphia to be exact, not everyone is impressed with the Democrat who last year squandered a chance to muscle towards a conclusion an investigation into the officer-involved shooting death of Mr. David Jones, a black man who was killed at age 30 by Mr. Ryan Pownall, a white man, while unarmed and rapidly fleeing.
Instead, the case, which was originally being investigated by the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office but was kicked up to Mr. Shapiro when the interim DA cited an undisclosed conflict of interest, collected dust, save for a questionable interview with the key eyewitness.
The investigation into the June 2017 shooting, which was caught on tape, is now back in the hands of the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office. It had to start from scratch due to relatively no public action being taken on it, multiple sources confirmed.
Now, Mr. Shapiro’s office has been given a second chance of sorts: current Philly DA Larry Krasner has punted to them the investigation into the officer-involved shooting death of Mr. Jeffrey Dennis, which occurred only two weeks ago, due to a conflict of interest.
According to various reporting, Philadelphia narcotics officers saw Mr. Dennis while surveilling his home in preparation of them executing a search warrant on it. The plainclothes officers surrounded his car with unmarked vehicles and Mr. Dennis allegedly rammed their vehicles, mildly injuring at least one officer, in an attempt to escape. Ultimately, one of the six officers on the scene shot multiple times into the car – the driver’s side window had already been smashed by another officer – and Mr. Dennis was pronounced dead eight minutes after the encounter began.
The official report from the Philadelphia Police Department said the officer closest to Mr. Dennis discharged his weapon. But the Dennis family attorney, Mr. Lee Merritt, said last week that the shooting officer was farthest away. That discrepancy is expected to be cleared up tomorrow when Mr. Merritt and his clients view the video – provided by Lorenzo’s Café Espresso, according to The Philadelphia Tribune – of the Hagerman Street officer-involved shooting.
Today, Mr. Merritt tweeted out a video of Mr. Dennis proposing to his female love interest with the following commentary: “@JoshShapiroPA the family would like to speak [sic] you about the kind of man he was. We have evidence that you should see about the brutality that claimed his life.”
Mr. Shapiro has yet to speak publicly about the shooting, a fatal incident which even caused the police commissioner here concern, though a spokesperson for the AG last week confirmed their office is reviewing the matter.
But confidence in Mr. Shapiro to truly and thoroughly investigate the shooting is lacking among certain segments of the Philadelphia population I spoke to. To boot, Rev. Mark Kelly Tyler, a radio host, activist, and pastor of a historic black church in the city, characterized the priest report as “low hanging fruit” and questioned whether Mr. Shapiro will exude equal sweat equity to investigate Mr. Dennis’ case.
Currently and rightfully so, Mr. Shapiro is being widely celebrated. But he still has to prove to a portion of his constituents that he can get his hands dirty in cases that involve potential police misconduct, an area in which he has yet to earn bona fides as Pennsylvania Attorney General.
His sidelining of the David Jones investigation will likely never be forgiven or forgotten by those who observed it. But Mr. Shapiro has been gifted an attempt at redemption. If he sidelines the Jeffrey Dennis case and only offers mere platitudes while waiting out the clock, he will be turning a blind eye to wrongdoing, and that would near him with the clergyman he so strongly accuses of indifference and complicity.
Thanks for reading! Until next time, I’m Flood the Drummer® and I’m Drumming for Justice!™
Do you want to be part of creating a kinder, more inclusive society?
Photo Credit: AP/Matt Rouke.