Posted on 03/16/2005 3:38:41 PM PST by swilhelm73
PHILADELPHIA (KYW) Police and prosecutors concerned with a spate of killings in the city begged the public Monday for more help identifying murderers.
District Attorney Lynne M. Abraham vowed that her office will protect witnesses, even if it means sending a moving van to their home to take them to safety the day they come forward.
“We cannot only move you out of the city, we can move you out of the state; we can move you across the country,” Abraham said.
Within the past eight days there have been 21 homicides in Philadelphia, including three in the late-night and early morning hours after the prosecutor made her appeal Monday.
Now, CBS 3’s Stephanie Abrams reports that Mayor Street said under certain circumstances he would consider help from the Pennsylvania State Police and even the National Guard. However, if necessary, he would like to know the stipulations under which they would operate.
Street has declared the violence throughout the city a crisis and as a result has ordered the full review of police department policies and has suggested a full moratorium on the issuing of gun permits.
In addition, Street has requested a meeting with Governor Ed Rendell to talk about possible new gun legislation. He contends that some murders are impossible to prevent without tougher gun laws.
One person is reportedly in custody in connection with the stabbing death of a 54-year-old man early Wednesday in Kensington. Eyewitnesses say it followed an argument.
A 43-year-old man was hospitalized in critical condition after being shot in the head Wednesday afternoon in South Philadelphia. Police believe they have the person responsible in custody.
The latest death brought Philadelphia’s 2005 murder total to 78, up from 66 at the same point a year ago, police said. Homicide Capt. Richard Ross said police have had to solve most of the crimes without the public’s help.
“We’d like to see it come from cooperation from the public and not just from excellent police work,” Ross said. “We’d like to see a combination of the two.”
Law enforcement officials have been on a campaign to persuade city residents to cooperate more with police since last year’s killing of Faheem Thomas-Childs, a 10-year-old boy struck by a stray bullet outside at his North Philadelphia school. The shooting happened in front of dozens of people, but few witnesses have spoken up. “We know that people know who killed Faheem Thomas-Childs. We know that people know. We need them to come forward,” Abraham said. Nearly all progress made in that investigation has come from the work of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, not from the public, she said.
Abraham would not discuss the case of Felix Summers, a 24-year-old man accused by federal authorities of killing off a string of witnesses who were to testify against him in as many as four murders. Summers, who has not been accused in any of the current cases, was acquitted in two homicide trials and a jury deadlocked in another trial last week. His lawyer says he had nothing to do with the witnesses’ deaths and was being persecuted by overzealous prosecutors.
Ross said he was especially unnerved by Saturday night’s slaying of 9-year-old Walter DeJesus, who was shot dead outside the corner store his father runs in North Philadelphia. He said police had “virtually no information” about that death and described going to the scene Saturday night, right after he had gotten home from investigating other killings. “My daughter, who’s the same age, asked me, ‘Daddy, where are you going?”’ Ross said. “All I could say was, ‘A little boy your age got hurt.”’
Maybe even to some place where you're allowed to exercise your constitutional right to use a gun to defend yourself?
This is what happens when you tie the hands of law enforcement with all these criminals rights.
So let's make another law to make it more illegal to kill people. HOW DUMB!!
Sounds like they're drumming up support for Philly's very own Sullivan Act. I smell a Brady.
Maybe she should be talking to the murderers: "We can put you on a gurney where you will receive a lethal injection."
Well, it's obvious from the above sentence that Street is a lib. Gun permits should be issued to ALL law-abiding citizens. Who does this idiot think is killing everyone?
GUNS should be issued to all law-abiding citizens. That would really put a dent in the murder rate (not to mention the city budget). :^)
This is such a joke! I read this article earlier today and the mayor wants to restrict the carry rights of citizens, but when asked,"how many murders were committed by people with carry permits", the mayor shut up. Another joke was when the mayor said, who needs to carry a gun in a city,( a city with 21 murders this month) I'd carry two if I lived in Phily. Now, he wants the gov. to change the carry laws in Pa.. This is just another anti-gun lib trying to cover his a** with more gun laws when he needs to push for tougher penalties and less plea bargaining for the criminals.
There were 21 Americans killed in Iraq so far during March. I guess the quagmire must have moved to Philly.
As long as we have the damn dumb DRUG LAWS we are going to have gang violence and bystanders killed
We learned NOTHING from PROHIBITION
Philly is "shall issue" for concealed carry permits
Then I guess my post is a non-issue. : [
From what I've been hearing about Philadelphia, this promise of moving people out of the city ought to be lining witnesses up for blocks.
What kind of crappy police department do they have when the BATFAGs are the only ones capable of making progress?
Ol' Roscoe P. Coltrain could do a better job.
Nam Vet
When people put criminals into the position of Mayor, what do they expect?
He made the famous "Brothers & Sisters" statement in front of Black Church parishioners about three years ago, bragging about he and his kind now "Running the City", meaning that they are now in power, and able to control the city's contracts and of course reap the profits.
A current Federal trial is now in progress, and focused on City corruption, from Mayor Street on down.
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