7/12/2020 FIGHT FOR FREEDOM - Inquirer - Philly Edition, 7/12/2020

CHAPTER 1 FIGHT FOR FREEDOM

1830-1899

Civil War soldiers in Company E, 4th U.S. Colored Infantry, at Fort Lincoln.

Library of Congress

x DECEMBER 1830 POLICING BEGINS

The first police patrol starts in Philadelphia. The scope of the police quickly grows. x MAY 14-17, 1838 RESISTANCE TO ABOLITIONISM

Antislavery groups open Pennsylvania Hall at Sixth and Haines Streets (between Arch and Race), to have a place to meet. A white mob breaks in, ransacks and burns the building, while the police stand by watching. Firefighters spray down neighboring buildings, but not the brand-new hall, which burns to the ground. The mob burns down the Shelter for Colored Orphans. Police do not arrest anyone for setting the fires. In October a new state constitution takes away the right to vote from Black Pennsylvanians.

>MARCH 6, 1857

DRED SCOTT DECISION https://digital.olivesoftware.com/Olive/ODN/PhiladelphiaInquirer/PrintArticle.aspx?doc=PHQP%2F2020%2F07%2F12&entity=ar01400&ts=202007120… 1/3 7/12/2020 FIGHT FOR FREEDOM - Philadelphia Inquirer - Philly Edition, 7/12/2020 Scott, an enslaved Black man born in Virginia, sues for his freedom. His case goes to the Supreme Court, which rules that he is not a citizen and therefore cannot sue in federal court. The decision says that the framers of the Constitution believed Black people “had no rights which the white man was The Octavius V. Catto Memorial dedication in 2017. CLEM MURRAY / File Photograph bound to respect.”

>APRIL 1865

END OF THE CIVIL WAR

Gen. Robert E. Lee surrenders.

>1865-1870

THE 13TH, 14TH, AND 15TH AMENDMENTS ARE ADOPTED A print of Pennsylvania Hall burning on May 17, 1838. Library of Congress The 13th Amendment, abolishing slavery, is adopted in December 1865. The 14th Amendment, giving equal protection under the law, is adopted in July 1868. The 15th Amendment, giving Black men the right to vote, is adopted in February 1870. x MARCH 31, 1870 POLICE KILL HENRY TRUMAN

A police officer shoots 26-year-old Truman in an alley in Society Hill. At trial, the officer says the shooting is an accident that took place when he was ambushed by a crowd while chasing an accused shoplifter. Witnesses at trial say they saw the officer chase Truman into the alley, and when Truman turned and asked what he did wrong, the officer shot him. The officer is found guilty of manslaughter. x OCT. 11, 1870 ELECTION DAY VIOLENCE

Police officers arrive at a poll at Fifth and Lombard Streets, where many Black men had been waiting for hours to vote. Some officers remove the ID numbers from their caps. The police confront and shove Black people waiting in line while white people vote. Those who complain are arrested or beaten. https://digital.olivesoftware.com/Olive/ODN/PhiladelphiaInquirer/PrintArticle.aspx?doc=PHQP%2F2020%2F07%2F12&entity=ar01400&ts=202007120… 2/3 7/12/2020 FIGHT FOR FREEDOM - Philadelphia Inquirer - Philly Edition, 7/12/2020 A month later, Black men trying to vote in Camden meet similar violence, intimidation, and arrest at the hands of groups of white men and police officers, who crowd around the polls.

Federal authorities charge 23 men with violating the newly enacted 15th Amendment. Four are Philadelphia policemen, including a lieutenant. x OCT. 10, 1871 OCTAVIUS CATTO ASSASSINATED

Catto, a Black political organizer and educator, is assassinated on Election Day.

The busy South Street area — the institutional and emotional heart of the Black community — had been rocked by violence since the night before. White police officers and Democrats attack Black voters, sending dozens to the hospital. Catto is shot on his way home. A jury finds his killer not guilty at trial, despite evidence from six eyewitnesses.

In 2017, almost 150 years after his death, the statue of Catto becomes the first public monument in Philly to honor a black person.

>MAY 18, 1896

JIM CROW LAWS UPHELD

In Plessy v. Ferguson, the Supreme Court rules that Jim Crow laws are constitutional, creating the “separate but equal” doctrine. Jim Crow laws, which begin in the late 19th century and enforce racial segregation, remain in effect until the court reverses this decision in 1954. x 1899

THE PHILADELPHIA NEGRO PUBLISHES

W.E.B. Du Bois publishes his landmark book, The Philadelphia Negro. In it, he cites statistics that, before the Civil War, Black people made up 5% of the city’s population, but accounted for nearly a third of the jail population. Du Bois says Black people were “arrested for less cause and given longer sentences than whites.”

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CHAPTER 2 FREE BUT UNEQUAL

1900-1962

>1915

FOP FOUNDED

The Fraternal Order of Police is founded in Pittsburgh. It becomes a national organization three years later. x SEPT. 27, 1915

POLICE CRACK DOWN ON PROTESTERS

D.W. Griffith’s film The Birth of a Nation, criticized by A group of workers who helped build the SS Marine Eagle at the all-Black Number 4 Yard at Sun Black ministers Ship in Chester in 1943. The Historical Society of Pennsylvania and civic leaders for its overt racism and demonization of Black people, is scheduled to open at the Forrest Theatre. The Black community unsuccessfully petitions Mayor Rudolph Blankenburg to ban the film. On opening night, a protest led by Black ministers marches to the theater, where they are assaulted by a crowd that includes police officers and theater workers. x 1917-18

BLACK PEOPLE ORGANIZE

During World War I, rising police brutality against Black people leads a group in Philadelphia to form the Association for the Protection of Colored People. Members are given cards to show if they are attacked by police. The cards signal that they have the backing of the association’s well-funded legal team. x JULY 1918 https://digital.olivesoftware.com/Olive/ODN/PhiladelphiaInquirer/PrintArticle.aspx?doc=PHQP%2F2020%2F07%2F12&entity=ar01401&ts=202007120… 1/3 7/12/2020 FREE BUT UNEQUAL - Philadelphia Inquirer - Philly Edition, 7/12/2020 POLICE KILL RILEY BULLOCK

Tens of thousands of Black people move into the city for war work, including into predominantly white neighborhoods like Grays Ferry. Residents attack the home of a Black woman; the police do nothing to stop the assault, and many participate, which leads to a riot. In the aftermath, two white cops arrest 38- year-old Riley Bullock, who is beaten and then shot while in custody.

A letter to the editor of the Philadelphia Tribune from a Black pastor read:

“Afro-Americans of this city are tired of legalized murder, we are sick at seeing death carried on by acts of legislation, we are heart-sick at seeing men killed with law, homes ruined, children robbed of comfort, love and affection by law, society outraged, morals under-minded by the law.” x 1924

CITY STUDIES RACE AND CRIME

The city undertakes a comprehensive study of race and crime. The data confirm that unlawful arrests disproportionately affect the Black community and show a clear pattern of discrimination against Black people. Black people account for almost a quarter of arrests, while making up only 9% of the city’s population. Most who are arrested are young and picked up for petty crimes or vice-related offenses, and 20% of arrests are for vagrancy, disorderly conduct, concealed weapons violations, and “suspicious behavior.” x 1928

ARRESTS, BEATINGS, HARASSMENT

Here are some ways that Black people in Philadelphia are treated by police in this year alone: In May, a police officer who is angry that young Black people are playing baseball on his street calls a patrol wagon to arrest every Black man they find on North 16th Street In June, police arrest a couple coming out of South Street’s Standard Theater when they mistake the woman as white. In July, a group orders a Black man off a sidewalk in North Philadelphia; he is then beaten by a mob and shot three times by the police. x MARCH 12, 1946

RIOTS IN SOUTHWEST PHILADELPHIA

Fighting breaks out between Black students at Samuel Tilden High School in Southwest Philadelphia and white students from a neighboring school. On the first day of riots, police arrest 14 Black students and no white students. Riots continue. According to witnesses, the police protect white boys, some in military uniforms, who were attacking Black boys, and arrest the Black youth en masse. x 1952

UPENN LAW REVIEWS POLICE PRACTICES

An article in the University of Pennsylvania Law Review says:

“Negroes who assert their rights against the police apparently do so in some cases at the risk of arrest. According to the records of one organization, arrests of Negroes for disorderly conduct have been made solely for such reasons as: protesting, at the police station, an illegal entry and beating; objecting to an unauthorized search of the person and to being struck; or inquiring why a friend was in the police wagon.”

>MAY 17, 1954

BROWN V. BOARD OF EDUCATION https://digital.olivesoftware.com/Olive/ODN/PhiladelphiaInquirer/PrintArticle.aspx?doc=PHQP%2F2020%2F07%2F12&entity=ar01401&ts=202007120… 2/3 7/12/2020 FREE BUT UNEQUAL - Philadelphia Inquirer - Philly Edition, 7/12/2020 The Supreme Court decision in the case

Brown v. Board of Education rules state laws that racially segregated public schools are unconstitutional. x 1957

SHOTGUNSQUADS

The police field “shotgun squads” 24 hours a day, especially through the largely Black north and central parts of the city, referred to in one paper as the “crime belt.” The patrols carry sawed-off shotguns as a show of force, to deter robberies.

A study from the same year finds that most white officers in Philly believe Black people are predisposed to crime, and more than half of patrolmen said they “found it necessary to be more strict with Negro law violators than white violators.” x JAN. 15, 1958

PUBLIC OUTCRY OVER POLICE MISCONDUCT

Black residents of West and North Philadelphia testify before a City Council committee about illegal home raids, street frisks done on flimsy pretense, and explicitly racist verbal harassment, among other flagrantly abusive practices.

The executive director of the NAACP says:

“No policeman involved has received even a single reprimand. The degree of loyalty existing in the Police Department made it impossible for an aggrieved citizen to expect a favorable decision from the police board of inquiry.”

The ACLU calls for better oversight of complaints against police. In October, Mayor creates the country’s first civilian review board. In response, the Fraternal Order of Police union obtains court injunctions to shut down the board’s work.

25% Of those arrested are Black

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CHAPTER 3 THE RIZZO YEARS

1963-1979

Philadelphia Police Commissioner (left) speaks with Pennsylvania State Sen. Herbert R. Arlene after protests at the Board of Education. AP

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Police haul away a demonstrator at the Board of Education protests. AP

Columbia Avenue looking west from 15th Street shows damage after the riots. AP

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Police drag MOVE member Delbert Africa as he surrenders after the 1978 shootout.

JIM DOMKE / File Photograph

x 1963

POLICE SHOOTING STUDY

One of the first major studies of police shootings shows that Philadelphia police shoot and kill 32 men William Cradle after his arrest. Inquirer, between 1950 and Daily News archive Mayor-elect Frank Rizzo (left) with 1960. Nearly campaign director Al Gaudiosi in 1971. 90% of those Inquirer, Daily News archive killed are Black – while the Black population of Philly is only 22%. In 30 of the deaths, officials rule the shootings justifiable. Officers are arrested in the https://digital.olivesoftware.com/Olive/ODN/PhiladelphiaInquirer/PrintArticle.aspx?doc=PHQP%2F2020%2F07%2F12&entity=ar01504&ts=202007120… 3/8 7/12/2020 THE RIZZO YEARS - Philadelphia Inquirer - Philly Edition, 7/12/2020 two others, but acquitted by juries.

>AUG. 28, 1963

I HAVE A DREAM

The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivers his iconic speech at the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. x OCT. 29, 1963 Police line up Black Panther Party members against a wall at the group’s headquarters. AP POLICE KILL WILLIE PHILYAW

A police officer shoots and kills 24-year-old Philyaw, after he says Philyaw lunges at him. Witnesses insist the officer shoots Philyaw as he is trying to get away. Local clergy disperse a crowd angry about police misconduct, avoiding further violence. x DECEMBER 1963

START OF AN ERA

Frank Rizzo becomes deputy police commissioner in charge of uniformed officers, despite protests by the NAACP for what it calls Rizzo’s “storm trooper tactics against Negros.”

>JULY 2, 1964

CIVIL RIGHTS ACT SIGNED

President Lyndon B. Johnson signs the Civil Rights Act of 1964 into law, prohibiting employment discrimination due to race, sex, religion, or national origin, and ending the segregation of Jim Crow laws. x AUG. 28-30, 1964

THE COLUMBIA AVENUE RIOTS

Two police officers respond to a call about a car blocking traffic in North Philadelphia. In the ensuing interaction, the officer pulls Odessa Bradford from the car and handcuffs her. A crowd forms, gets angry, and more police are called. Long-simmering anger about police brutality, stoked by a false rumor that

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Rizzo wants to stop the riot with a full frontal assault. When Police Commissioner Howard Leary decides to hold back, Rizzo calls him a “gutless bastard.” x MAY-DECEMBER 1965

THE GIRARD COLLEGE PROTESTS

NAACP president Cecil B. Moore, a lawyer and later a member of City Council, leads almost eight months of protests outside Girard College. The private boarding school is built with money left by banker Stephen Girard, whose will specified it was for “poor male white orphan children”; the school becomes the center of a fight over integration.

According to protesters, Rizzo orders a brutal response: Officers run into protesters with motorcycles, beat them, attack them with dogs, and, when protesters stay overnight, keep police vehicles running to flood the area with carbon monoxide.

>AUG. 6, 1965

VOTING RIGHTS ACT

Johnson signs the Voting Rights Act, which prohibits some legal forms of voter suppression that prevent many Black people from voting. x MAY 16, 1967

RIZZO BECOMES COMMISSIONER

Rizzo is promoted to police commissioner. x NOV. 17, 1967

BOARD OF EDUCATION PROTESTS

Three thousand students leave class and gather at the Board of Education to demand Black history courses, the right to wear Afros, and more.

Rizzo directs more than 100 officers in full riot gear to swarm the scene, swinging nightsticks, and releasing police dogs. After two boys climb on top of a car, some say they hear Rizzo say, “Get their Black asses!” Rizzo later denies it. The school superintendent calls the violence a “police riot.” APRIL 4, 1968

KING ASSASSINATION

The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is assassinated in Memphis. One week later, President Johnson signs the Fair Housing Act, prohibiting discrimination in renting and buying homes.

DEC. 22, 1969

POLICE OVERSIGHT BOARD ABOLISHED

With a one-sentence order, Mayor James Tate abolishes the Police Advisory Board, which handles citizen complaints against police conduct. in what Rizzo calls “the finest Christmas present the police of this city could receive.” Tate announces the move in a speech to 100 commanding officers, and receives a

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AUG. 31, 1970

BLACK PANTHER RAID

Police raid Black Panther Party offices after a police officer is fatally shot and three others are wounded. During the raid, police handcuff and strip-search members against a wall outside the headquarters in a storefront on Columbia Avenue — in full view of press photographers. Rizzo says: “Imagine the big Black Panthers with their pants down.”

NOV. 7, 1971

RIZZO ELECTED MAYOR

Rizzo is elected to the first of his two consecutive four-year terms as mayor. He beats a primary challenge from State Rep. Hardy Williams, the first major mayoral campaign from a black candidate. x MARCH 14, 1973

CIVILIAN COMPLAINTS IGNORED

A federal judge rules that police violations in Philadelphia occur “with such frequency that they cannot be dismissed as rare, isolated instances; and that little or nothing is done by the city authorities to punish such infractions, or to prevent their recurrence.”

“As a general practice, no record is made by the Police Department of any civilian complaints, unless submitted in writing. There are no forms available to citizens for filing such complaints. When a written complaint is filed, it is supposed to be recorded by the police on a ‘complaint and incident report’ form (No. 75-48); but the general practice at the district level is not to record such complaints.”

Three years later, the Supreme Court hears the case and, in the name of federalism, declines to require that the department be held more accountable. x 1975

RIZZO’S SECOND TERM

Rizzo is elected to a second term. Charles Bowser, a Black lawyer, runs unsuccessfully against Rizzo as an independent candidate, the second major mayoral campaign by a Black candidate. x FEB. 15, 1976

POLICE KILL MICHAEL SHERARD

A police officer shoots and kills 16-year-old Sherard in Germantown while he runs away after stealing a TV. The officer says he shoots after Sherard turns and appears to reach for a weapon. No weapon is found. In November, an all-white jury acquits the officer of manslaughter. x 1977

BREAK THEIR HEADS

Rizzo says: “The way to treat criminals is spacco il capo,” using the Italian for “break their heads.” x APRIL 24, 1977

BEATINGS FOR CONFESSIONS https://digital.olivesoftware.com/Olive/ODN/PhiladelphiaInquirer/PrintArticle.aspx?doc=PHQP%2F2020%2F07%2F12&entity=ar01504&ts=202007120… 6/8 7/12/2020 THE RIZZO YEARS - Philadelphia Inquirer - Philly Edition, 7/12/2020 Homicide detectives routinely beat suspects to extract confessions. An investigation in The Inquirer reveals that over the last three years, 80 out of 433 homicide cases involved illegal interrogation and investigation methods, according to judges. x APRIL 29, 1977

POLICE BEAT WILLIAM CRADLE

Police brutally beat Cradle in Society Hill. Witnesses testify that they see police break their nightsticks while hitting Cradle. Rizzo says: “We have a very, very good police department, and they’re not brutal. … It’s very easy to break some of those nightsticks.”

During the trial, the officers testify that they punched Cradle once after he resisted arrest and attacked them. The defense attorney describes Cradle to the jury as the “wild man of Borneo” and mocks him for reportedly calling out for his mother while being beaten. The all-white jury acquits the three police officers. 1978

ONE YEAR, MANY EVENTS

While 1978 sees a drop in police shootings — 52 people are shot by police, down from 128 four years earlier — the year sees a number of high-profile cases and events.

FEB. 27, 1978

POLICE KILL MICHAEL CARPENTER

A police officer shoots 19-year-old Carpenter, who is unarmed, in the back. The police officer is charged, and, on the eve of his homicide trial, he pleads guilty to involuntary manslaughter. A Common Pleas Court judge ignores the district attorney’s recommendation of a jail term, and instead sentences the officer to five years’ probation. This is only the second time in Philadelphia history that an officer is convicted for killing a black man. The previous case was in 1870.

JUNE 24, 1978

POLICE KILL NELSON ARTIST

A police officer shoots and kills 30-year-old Artist, a cabdriver who had accidentally taken the wrong taxi after a lunch break. The officer cocks his gun before searching Artist and says it accidentally goes off. A grand jury later says the officer was negligent, but declines to charge him.

JULY 10, 1978

POLICE KILL WINSTON C.X. HOOD JR.

Witnesses say they see police shoot and kill 20-year-old Hood while he is handcuffed on the sidewalk. Police say he grabs for an officer’s gun, and they shoot, and then handcuff him when he continues to resist. No police officers are charged. In 1983, the city settles a wrongful-death case from Hood’s family. x AUG. 8, 1978

POLICE CLASH WITH MOVE

Police clash with the radical group MOVE in a shootout in Powelton, and an officer is killed in the fight. Nine MOVE members are convicted of third-degree murder for that death and sentenced to at least 30 https://digital.olivesoftware.com/Olive/ODN/PhiladelphiaInquirer/PrintArticle.aspx?doc=PHQP%2F2020%2F07%2F12&entity=ar01504&ts=202007120… 7/8 7/12/2020 THE RIZZO YEARS - Philadelphia Inquirer - Philly Edition, 7/12/2020 years in prison. Three police officers are arrested and charged with beating a MOVE member as he flees the group’s compound, but a judge throws out the case. x SEPT. 21, 1978

‘VOTE WHITE’

Rizzo says, “All I hear are Black politicians getting up and saying, ‘Vote Black, vote Black.’ Well, I’m gonna tell everybody to vote white.” x SEPT. 23, 1978

POLICE KILL CORNELL WARREN

Police shoot and kill 20-year-old Warren, after taking him into custody for a traffic violation. Warren is handcuffed and running away when an officer shoots him in the head. The police officer says it is an accident. Two officers are eventually charged; one is acquitted, and the other’s case ends in a mistrial. x 1979

MAJOR REPORT ON DEADLY FORCE BY POLICE

A Public Interest Law Center study of the Philadelphia Police Department finds that nearly half of police shootings violate state law, and from 1970-78, 75 people were shot even though they were “not charged with a violent crime and were unarmed and were retreating from the officer when shot.” In 1978 alone, two-thirds of people killed by police were Black or Hispanic. The shootings “are condoned by the police and city administration by the lack of disciplinary action against the offending officers.” x AUGUST 1979

DOJ SUIT AGAINST RIZZO

The Department of Justice files a civil rights suit against Rizzo, the Philadelphia Police Department, and other city officials in “the first time that the federal government has ever gone after a police department rather than after individual complaints of police brutality.”

By October, the federal district judge dismisses a major portion of the lawsuit, saying the U.S. attorney general does not have standing to bring such an all-encompassing suit. “The right to bring such a lawsuit remains with the aggrieved individual,” he says.

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CHAPTER 4 EYES ON INJUSTICE 1980-2012

A Philadelphia firefighter walks down Osage Avenue days after the MOVE bombing in May 1985. Inquirer, Daily News archive

x 1980

RESTRICTIONS ON DEADLY FORCE

After Rizzo leaves office, Mayor William Green imposes new rules limiting when police can use deadly force. Police shootings fall by two-thirds between 1979 and 1982. x AUG. 24, 1980

POLICE KILL WILLIAM H. GREEN

A police officer shoots and kills 17-year-old Green during an arrest in North John Timoney Philadelphia. The shooting sets off three days of protests, including an attack on a police station. The officer is charged with murder and involuntary manslaughter, but acquitted of all charges four years later. x 1982

MUMIA ABU-JAMAL TRIAL https://digital.olivesoftware.com/Olive/ODN/PhiladelphiaInquirer/PrintArticle.aspx?doc=PHQP%2F2020%2F07%2F12&entity=ar01700&ts=202007120… 1/7 7/12/2020 EYES ON INJUSTICE 1980-2012 - Philadelphia Inquirer - Philly Edition, 7/12/2020 Abu-Jamal is convicted of murder for the 1981 shooting of a Philadephia police officer based on eyewitness testimony. Abu- Jamal, a radio journalist and former Black Panther member, maintains that he was framed by police, and his case draws international attention. His conviction is upheld by Mayor W. leaves the Academy of Music in Philadelphia after his inauguration. numerous Inquirer, Daily News archive appeals courts, but his death sentence is converted to life in prison. x 1983

FIRST BLACK MAYOR

W. Wilson Goode Jr. is elected, becoming the city’s first black mayor. x 1984

THE POLICE K-9 CASES

An Inquirer investigation into the police K-9 unit reveals that it is out of control, and officers permit or command dogs to attack more than 350 people over the previous 33 months, often without justification. A dozen officers are subsequently removed from the unit, but a federal grand jury does not bring charges. x MARCH 1985

OPERATION COLD TURKEY

“Operation Cold Turkey” begins, a massive sweep where nearly 1,500 people are stopped, searched, and questioned. According to a news report, “None of them had been observed in an illegal transaction. The police had no warrant for any of them. In none of the cases was there reasonable suspicion, let alone probable cause, to justify the stop and the search. The only basis for their being detained was that they were at a place that was under suspicion.”

The ACLU files a class action case, which is settled in 1986, and all arrests and charges from the action are ordered dismissed and expunged. x MAY 13, 1985 https://digital.olivesoftware.com/Olive/ODN/PhiladelphiaInquirer/PrintArticle.aspx?doc=PHQP%2F2020%2F07%2F12&entity=ar01700&ts=202007120… 2/7 7/12/2020 EYES ON INJUSTICE 1980-2012 - Philadelphia Inquirer - Philly Edition, 7/12/2020 THE MOVE BOMBING

Police bomb a fortified MOVE house, and then let it burn. Eleven people who are inside, including five children, die.

A grand jury brings no charges against either city officials or police. After the disaster, only a MOVE member, Ramona Africa, the sole adult survivor of the bombing, faces criminal charges.

>OCT. 17, 1986

ANTI-DRUG A video still shows a dozen officers, some in uniform and some in civilian clothes, beating and ABUSE ACT kicking Thomas Jones. WPVI-TV, AP PASSES

Congress passes the Anti-Drug Abuse Act, which increases the number of drug offenses with mandatory minimum sentences. The act is criticized for how it disproportionately affects Black people. One reason: Possession of crack cocaine carries a harsher sentence than powdered cocaine. x 1988

FIRST BLACK POLICE COMMISSIONER

Willie Williams becomes the city’s first Black police commissioner. Mahari Bailey, lead plaintiff in “Bailey v. >MARCH 3, 1991 Philadelphia,” in 2010. SARAH J. POLICE BEAT RODNEY KING GLOVER King is brutally beaten by LAPD officers after a high-speed chase during his arrest / File Photograph for drunk driving; it is all caught on video. The officers are acquitted at trial. After the verdict, riots break out in Los Angeles. x APRIL 4, 1991

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Grant, 34, dies after being stopped by two police officers in a traffic stop in West Philadelphia. Grant’s family claims the officers beat him to death while he was handcuffed after Grant refuses to get out of his car. Police officials say Grant initiated the incident before suddenly falling limp and collapsing.

The city medical examiner rules Grant died of “cocaine intoxication,” although he did suffer four blows to the forehead that “did play some role in his death.” The FBI and the District Attorney’s Office investigate, but neither officer is charged. x JUNE 26, 1992

POLICE KILL CHARLES MATTHEWS

Eight police officers fire more than 90 shots at 54-year-old Matthews, known in his West Philadelphia neighborhood as “Window Washing Charlie.” Police respond to a report that Matthews is intoxicated and has a gun; they say he fires at police, but his gun was not loaded. One officer is arrested for Matthews’ death. He is acquitted of manslaughter. The city pays almost a million dollars to settle a wrongful-death suit in the case. x OCT. 29, 1993

RENDELL CREATES A POLICE OVERSIGHT BOARD

Mayor uses an executive order to create the Police Advisory Commission, made up of civilians to look into complaints of police abuse, after the city pays more than $10 million to settle police misconduct cases in five years. Between 1994 and 1996, the PAC receives 256 complaints about police conduct; 77% are from Black or Latino people.

The FOP tries to block the commission’s work. In 1995, the FOP sues to disband the commission, and try to block investigations. “We’re going to direct our people not to cooperate with them. They’re going to have to get through me to get to my troops,” the FOP president says. The commission is also threatened by a state bill that would make civilian oversight boards illegal. x FEB. 28, 1995

THE 39TH DISTRICT CORRUPTION SCANDAL

A grand jury indicts a group of officers from the 39th Police District on charges they spent at least three years shaking down people in predominantly Black North Philadelphia, “beating, robbing, lying and planting phony evidence.” The group falsified search and arrest warrants, presented false testimony in court, and framed criminal defendants, until they are brought down by FBI investigators. They plead guilty.

The officers are found to have violated the rights of hundreds of mostly Black defendants. As a result of the case, hundreds of convictions are overturned and the city pays millions of dollars in damages. The NAACP files a major civil rights suit against the city, and fights for comprehensive reforms on excessive force, racial bias, and corruption. Mayor Rendell settles the case, implements new reforms, and increases oversight. x NOVEMBER 1995

INTERNAL AFFAIRS INVESTIGATION

An investigation of Internal Affairs complaints from 1989-95 finds that most go nowhere, and when an investigation does side with the complainant, penalties are rarely harsh. And many officers who are fired are quietly reinstated. The investigation finds that, in the past 28 months alone, the city has paid out $20 million to resolve cases against at least 225 officers. https://digital.olivesoftware.com/Olive/ODN/PhiladelphiaInquirer/PrintArticle.aspx?doc=PHQP%2F2020%2F07%2F12&entity=ar01700&ts=202007120… 4/7 7/12/2020 EYES ON INJUSTICE 1980-2012 - Philadelphia Inquirer - Philly Edition, 7/12/2020 In 1998, in his first major act as police commissioner, John Timoney restructures the city’s Internal Affairs unit, in an effort to better handle police misconduct. x OCT. 1, 1998

POLICE KILL DONTA DAWSON

A police officer shoots 18-year-old unarmed Dawson in the head during a traffic stop in North Philadelphia. The officer is fired, but never stands trial because two judges dismiss manslaughter charges. x DEC. 30, 1998

RIZZO STATUE ERECTED

Seven years after his death, the Rizzo statue goes up across from City Hall. It causes controversy even before it is installed. In 2017, the city agrees to remove it in 2021.

>FEB. 4, 1999

POLICE KILL AMADOU DIALLO

Four New York police officers fire 41 shots at Diallo, killing him, while he is outside his apartment building. He is unarmed. The officers are acquitted at trial. x JULY 12, 2000

POLICE BEAT THOMAS JONES

Ten Philadelphia police officers beat and kick Jones, a Black man who is suspected of carjacking. He is struck 59 times by officers, and a news helicopter films the beating. A grand jury later finds the police behavior legal and no charges are brought against any officers. x 2001

THE ‘NICKEL RIDE’ SCANDAL

An investigation in The Inquirer exposes the practice of police giving suspects what’s called a “nickel ride,” named after an old term for a cheap ride at an amusement park. In the police version, a person is handcuffed in the back of a police car but not put in a seatbelt, and the police drive roughly so the person is tossed around and injured.

The city pays more than $2 million to people injured from this treatment and promises reforms. But, in 2014, the city settles a new case alleging the same mistreatment and pays $490,000 to settle that case.

>SEPT. 11, 2001

9/11

Terrorists crash two planes into the World Trade Center in New York and a third plane into the Pentagon, killing almost 3,000 people. x 2006

POLICE SHOOTINGS SPIKE

Police fatally shoot 22 people, the highest number in 32 years.

>JUNE 29, 2007

IPHONE RELEASED https://digital.olivesoftware.com/Olive/ODN/PhiladelphiaInquirer/PrintArticle.aspx?doc=PHQP%2F2020%2F07%2F12&entity=ar01700&ts=202007120… 5/7 7/12/2020 EYES ON INJUSTICE 1980-2012 - Philadelphia Inquirer - Philly Edition, 7/12/2020 The first iPhone is released. As smartphones become more widespread, so does the ability to record incidents of police conduct. x OCT. 8, 2007

POLICE SHOOT RONALD TIMBERS

Yvonne Young calls the police to help get her 15-year-old son into rehab. But they shoot and kill Timbers inside his Crescentville home. Police claim that Timbers charged at the officers with a clothing iron; Young says her son is only pacing with the iron when he is shot and killed. x NOV. 6, 2007

MICHAEL NUTTER IS ELECTED MAYOR

Nutter, who is Black, is elected mayor, after campaigning on a promise to enact a widespread stop-and- frisk policy to combat crime. The policy becomes the subject of a 2010 class action case that alleges it targets Black and Latino people without cause and is unconstitutional. x JAN. 1, 2008

POLICE KILL ABEBE ISAAC

Isaac is inside an East Germantown rowhouse when a police officer fires 11 gunshots into the building after a suspect runs inside. Isaac, an innocent bystander, is shot five times and dies a week later. Three other people who are inside, including a 9-year-old boy, are also wounded. An investigation and lawsuit follow, but the officer is cleared of any criminal wrongdoing in the case.

>NOV. 4, 2008

FIRST BLACK PRESIDENT

Barack Obama is elected; in January, he is sworn in as the 44th president. x 2010

STOP-AND-FRISK LAWSUIT

A federal civil rights lawsuit —

Bailey v. Philadelphia — alleges that police show a pattern of stopping and frisking people without reasonable suspicion, and that Black and Latino people are disproportionately targeted.

The suit alleges that thousands of people are illegally stopped, frisked, searched, and detained because of its stop-and-frisk policy. According to the lawsuit, police made more than 250,000 stops in 2009; more than 72% were Black people, even though they make up only 44% of the city’s population that year. Less than 9% of stops led to an arrest.

The case is settled in 2011, and the police agree to better data collection and monitoring. While stops fall dramatically, the ACLU reports that police continue to stop and frisk thousands of people without a legal reason, and that lack of disciplinary measures against officers who stop and frisk people illegally is a major problem. x 2011

MASS INCARCERATION PEAKS

Pennsylvania’s state prison system population hits its peak, 51,000, six times the 1980 count. Half of the inmates are Black, though Black people make up only 11% of the population across the state. As of 2020, the prison population has fallen 17% from that peak, though the percentage of Black people in prisons is still 46%. x FEB. 8, 2011 https://digital.olivesoftware.com/Olive/ODN/PhiladelphiaInquirer/PrintArticle.aspx?doc=PHQP%2F2020%2F07%2F12&entity=ar01700&ts=202007120… 6/7 7/12/2020 EYES ON INJUSTICE 1980-2012 - Philadelphia Inquirer - Philly Edition, 7/12/2020 POLICE KILL JAMIL MOSES

Police fire 62 shots into a car in North Philadelphia, killing Moses, who is 24, a passenger, and unarmed. The city pays $2.5 million to settle a suit brought by Moses’ family. x NOV. 9, 2011

POLICE SHOOT STEPHEN MOORE

Police shoot 37-year-old Moore, who is unarmed, in Southwest Philadelphia while he is inside his in-laws’ home. Police say they fire after Moore makes a threatening movement, which Moore denies, and says that the officer shot without warning, and without identifying himself as a police officer. The city later pays Moore $2.5 million to resolve a lawsuit. The officer who shot him is not charged. x 2012

SPIKE IN POLICE SHOOTINGS

Even though crime drops in 2012, police shootings soar to the highest level since 1979. Philadelphia police shoot 52 people; of those, 15 die. In 2011, police had shot 35 people. A number of civil suits follow. After initially dismissing the problem, in 2013 Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey asks the U.S. Justice Department to review how the police use firearms.

$2M Paid by police in settlements

51K In Pa. state prisons

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CHAPTER 5 THE STRUGGLE CONTINUES 2013- PRESENT

A woman marches along East Market Street in Philadelphia on June 2 to protest the death of George Floyd. TIM TAI / Staff Photographer

>JULY 2013

BLACK LIVES MATTER MOVEMENT BEGINS

#BlackLivesMatter starts as a hashtag after George Zimmerman is acquitted of murder and manslaughter for shooting and killing 17-year-old Trayvon Martin and grows into a widespread movement against anti-Black racism, especially at the hands of police. x DEC. 19, 2013

POLICE REFORMS ON QUESTIONING SUSPECTS

Commissioner Ramsey announces a series of police reforms including requiring that Philippe Holland homicide interrogations be videotaped, limiting how long suspects can be held, and new rules about how photo lineups can be presented to victims and witnesses. The reforms are implemented over the next several years. x APRIL 22, 2014

POLICE SHOOT PHILIPPE HOLLAND

https://digital.olivesoftware.com/Olive/ODN/PhiladelphiaInquirer/PrintArticle.aspx?doc=PHQP%2F2020%2F07%2F12&entity=ar01801&ts=202007120… 1/6 7/12/2020 THE STRUGGLE CONTINUES 2013-PRESENT - Philadelphia Inquirer - Philly Edition, 7/12/2020 Police wrongly suspect Holland, who is a 20-yearold pizza deliveryman, of being involved in a crime and fire 14 shots into his car, leaving him with a permanent seizure disorder. In 2017, the city pays him $4.4 million to resolve his civil suit, the largest such payment in city history. No police officer is charged. x JUNE 19, 2014

MARIJUANA DECRIMINALIZATION

City Council passes a measure to decriminalize small amounts of marijuana. The bill is introduced by then-City Councilman , who argues that marijuana arrests unfairly impact Black people. In 2013, 83% of the 4,336 people arrested for marijuana possession were Black. The bill becomes law on Oct. 20.

>JULY 17, 2014

POLICE KILL ERIC GARNER

New York City police officers place Garner in a choke hold while arresting him for selling single cigarettes. He repeats the words “I can’t breathe” 11 times before he dies. The officers are not indicted.

>AUG. 9, 2014

POLICE KILL MICHAEL BROWN

The 18-year-old Brown is shot six times and killed by a police officer in Ferguson, Mo. The shooting sparks widespread unrest in the city. A grand jury does not indict the officers.

>NOV. 22, 2014

POLICE KILL TAMIR RICE

Rice, 12, is shot and killed by police in Cleveland while he’s at a playground, with a toy gun tucked in his waistband. The officers are not indicted. x MARCH 2015

DOJ FAULTS POLICE SHOOTINGS

The federal review that Ramsey requested in 2013 finds that Philadelphia police shootings rose while crime fell, and that the force has inadequate training and lacks transparency. And 80% of people shot by police between 2007 and 2014 are Black, 45% of whom are unarmed. The report includes a number of recommendations for best practices and training; the resulting changes cause use-of-force cases by police to drop significantly.

>JULY 13, 2015

SANDRA BLAND’S DEATH

Bland is found dead in her Texas jail cell after being arrested during a traffic stop. The arrest is filmed by a dashcam and Bland’s own cell phone. Her death is ruled a suicide, and sparks outrage and calls for an independent investigation.

>JULY 6, 2016

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A Minnesota police officer shoots Castille during a traffic stop as he reaches for his license and registration. A video of the shooting is livestreamed on Facebook, sparking national outrage. The officer is acquitted at trial. x SEPT. 28, 2016

POLICE KILL CHRISTOPHER SOWELL

Tear gas is fired at protesters on the I-676 expressway on June 1, 2020. JESSICA GRIFFIN / Staff Photographer

Nine police officers fire 109 rounds at 32-year-old Sowell in West Philadelphia after he attacks several people, which police and his family say was the result of drug use. Police order Sowell to take his hands out of his pockets and open fire when he pulls out an object, which is later revealed to be a cell phone. x JUNE 8, 2017

POLICE KILL DAVID JONES

A police officer shoots Jones, 30, in the back and kills him. The officer had stopped Jones for illegally riding a dirt bike on a city street. The two men allegedly tussle over a gun; Jones drops his gun and is running away when he is shot.

Jones is the second Black man this officer shot in the back. In 2010, the officer shot and paralyzed Carnell Williams-Carney, also while he was running away. That shooting was deemed justified. In 2018, the officer is charged with homicide. (The trial is still pending.) It is the first homicide case brought against a Philadelphia officer in nearly two decades. x JULY 7, 2017

THE RIGHT TO PHOTOGRAPH POLICE

https://digital.olivesoftware.com/Olive/ODN/PhiladelphiaInquirer/PrintArticle.aspx?doc=PHQP%2F2020%2F07%2F12&entity=ar01801&ts=202007120… 3/6 7/12/2020 THE STRUGGLE CONTINUES 2013-PRESENT - Philadelphia Inquirer - Philly Edition, 7/12/2020 An appeals judge rules in a case brought by the ACLU on behalf of a Temple student who was arrested for videotaping police. “Simply put, the First Amendment protects the act of photographing, filming, or otherwise recording police officers conducting their official duties in public.” x 2018 Protester Aurica Hurst pours out coffee in front of Starbucks at 18th and Spruce Streets on April 16, 2018. JESSICA GRIFFIN / Staff Photographer 7 OFFICERS CHARGED OVER NEARLY 50 YEARS. 1 CONVICTED.

Between 1976 and 2018, seven police officers have been charged over the death of a Black person. 1976: Death of Michael Sherard. David Jones in an undated photograph. File photograph Officer acquitted. 1978: Death of Michael Carpenter.

Officer pleads guilty to involuntary Courtesy NBC10 manslaughter. 1979: Death of Cornell Warren.

https://digital.olivesoftware.com/Olive/ODN/PhiladelphiaInquirer/PrintArticle.aspx?doc=PHQP%2F2020%2F07%2F12&entity=ar01801&ts=202007120… 4/6 7/12/2020 THE STRUGGLE CONTINUES 2013-PRESENT - Philadelphia Inquirer - Philly Edition, 7/12/2020 Officer acquitted. 1984: Death of William H. Green.

Officer acquitted. 1992: Death of Charles Matthews.

Officer acquitted. 1999: Death of Donta Dawson.

Case thrown out. 2018: Death of David Jones. Trial pending. x DEC. 17, 2017

POLICE KILL DENNIS PLOWDEN JR.

A police officer shoots and kills Plowden after a high-speed chase, after Plowden is spotted driving a car linked to a homicide (Plowden is not a suspect in that case). Police shoot and kill him when they cannot see his hands. The officer is fired; no charges are filed against him. x 2018

POLICE SHOOTINGS DROP

Police shoot and wound five people during the year. No one is shot and killed by police. The tally is the lowest in at least five decades. x APRIL 12, 2018

POLICE ARREST TWO MEN IN STARBUCKS

Police handcuff and arrest Rashon Nelson and Donte Robinson in a Rittenhouse Starbucks for sitting without buying anything. The arrest leads to protests. Mayor Jim Kenney says the incident “appears to exemplify what racial discrimination looks like in 2018.” Police Commissioner Richard Ross says on Facebook “officers did not do anything wrong,” though he later apologizes. The officers are not disciplined. x JUNE 1, 2019

RACIST POLICE SOCIAL MEDIA

A group compiles racist and offensive Facebook posts by police. The Plain View Project documents and publishes an online database of posts from 330 Philly officers, including an inspector, six captains, and nine lieutenants. In response, the department puts 72 officers on desk duty — the largest number placed on desk duty at one time in recent history — and fires 13. x JULY 16, 2019

SUPREME COURT DEATH-PENALTY CASE

District Attorney Larry Krasner files an appeal to the state Supreme Court to have the death penalty declared unconstitutional. He argues that of 155 death sentences given to Philadelphia defendants since 1978, 72% were overturned, and of the 45 people from Philadelphia on death row, 37 are Black. The high court rejects the appeal two months later.

After strengthening the Conviction Integrity Unity in 2018, as of 2020, 14 homicide convictions have been overturned. In total, city taxpayers have paid more than $40 million to settle claims of malicious prosecutions and arrests since 2010. x SEPT. 12, 2019

POLICE DISCIPLINE FREQUENTLY OVERTURNED

Between 2011 and 2019, the FOP fights to have police discipline overturned or reduced, and is successful in about 70% of cases, according to an analysis by The Inquirer. In 170 cases over that period, the city pays 26 officers at least $1.2 million in back pay and other payments. x FEB. 10, 2020

https://digital.olivesoftware.com/Olive/ODN/PhiladelphiaInquirer/PrintArticle.aspx?doc=PHQP%2F2020%2F07%2F12&entity=ar01801&ts=202007120… 5/6 7/12/2020 THE STRUGGLE CONTINUES 2013-PRESENT - Philadelphia Inquirer - Philly Edition, 7/12/2020 FIRST BLACK FEMALE COMMISSIONER

Danielle Outlaw becomes police commissioner. Outlaw is the first Black woman to have the job.

>MARCH 13, 2020

POLICE KILL BREONNA TAYLOR

Police in Louisville, Ky., execute a no-knock warrant after midnight because they believe that a suspected drug dealer is using her apartment to receive packages. A no-knock warrant allows police to enter without warning or without identifying themselves as officers. One police officer is later fired, but not indicted. x MAY 30, 2020

GEORGE FLOYD PROTESTS BEGIN IN PHILLY

In weeks of protests, people in the city and around the world take to the streets to unite against police brutality, after a Minneapolis police officer kills Floyd by kneeling on his neck for almost nine minutes. Under the banner of Black Lives Matter, protests call for defunding the police and ending police brutality.

In the first week of protests, police stand by while a group of armed, white vigilantes roam the streets of Fishtown. Police are ordered not to cover their badge numbers after social media posts document them doing so. A video on social media shows an officer ripping face masks off kneeling protesters to spray their faces with pepper spray. Police use tear gas on demonstrators marching along the I-676 expressway, forcing them to clamber up the steep embankment to escape. Police also use tear gas on protesters in predominantly Black West Philly. While Outlaw and Kenney initially defend the I-676 action, they apologize weeks later. Weeks later, the officer who sprayed protesters with pepper spray is fired. x JUNE 3, 2020

RIZZO STATUE REMOVED

The Rizzo statue is removed from outside the Municipal Services Building after it becomes a focus for protesters because of the legacy of oppression it represents. It is currently in storage.

80% Shot by police are Black

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In 1871, Octavius Catto was murdered in the streets because he was fighting for equal rights for Black Philadelphians. It took nearly 150 years after his death to honor him with a statue in our city. He is still the only Black Philadelphian to have this honor.

Frank Rizzo has become a symbol of the escalation of violence and brutality against Black neighborhoods in the name of law and order. Less than 10 years after his death his statue is erected despite many protests. It has come down only now, after mass protests in the wake of George Floyd’s death.

It is a symbolic gesture — but a meaningful one, and one that shows how hard it can be to make change happen.

It’s easy to look at each incident of violence against Black people as discrete and separate. And this has made systemic racism harder to recognize and easier to dismiss.

But nothing happens in a vacuum. Our history connects with our present, and this timeline is not complete.

If this timeline contains inaccuracies or omissions, please let us [email protected]

This project was researched by consulting newspaper archives, source documents, official statistics and studies and by speaking with a number of expert sources, including lawyers, academics and historians. Source links and clippings from the archives of the Inquirer and the Daily News are viewable in the enhanced online presentation of this timeline: Inquirer.com/blackandblue

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