39th District corruption scandal

The 39th District corruption scandal refers to a persistent pattern of brutality and corruption among a cadre Philadelphia Police Department (PPD) officers, primarily from the department's 39th district, that emerged in late 1995 and received nationwide attention by 1997, eventually resulting in an investigation by Human Rights Watch.

Dramatis personae

Many hundreds of people were involved in the epidemic of abuses that gripped North Philadelphia in the early 1990s; some are notable due to their direct participation, others for their participation in other notable events, particularly the extended legal proceedings related to the conviction of Mumia Abu-Jamal in the murder of Officer Daniel Faulkner.

Convicted PPD Officers

Members of the PPD's Special Narcotics Unit, also known as "The Five Squad":
* Officer John Baird
* Sgt. Thomas DeGovanni
* Officer Steven Brown
* Officer James Ryan
* Officer Thomas Ryan (on leave from the PPD at the time of conviction).Another officer, Louis J. Maier, was convicted on separate charges of robbery and battery.

Other key figures

* Lynne Abraham, District Attorney
* Pamela Jenkins, longterm paid PPD informant and key government witness. Jenkins entered into a sexual relationship with officer Ryan at age 15, which she would later describe as exploitive.

Brief Description

The core of the scandal involves actions by a cabal of PPD officers -- some of whom where known to North Philadelphians as the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, charged with investigating suspected crack houses and drug distribution hubs. The officers conducted "raids", often unreported, on some of these locations, seizing cocaine, cash, and weapons; the cocaine was then used to pay informants, setup suspects, bribe witnesses, and buy sexual favors. The officers were also known for stealing from suspects, beating up anyone who got in their way and generally (in the words of one of the prosecuting judges) "squash [ing] the Bill of Rights into the mud." [http://www.post-gazette.com/localnews/20031011phillymayor1011p2.asp] .

In the wake of the scandal, nearly 1,400 cases were put under review; by 1997, between 160 and 300 had been overturned, leading to the release of more than 100 persons. Beyond the convictions obtained by federal prosecutors, no one in the PPD was explicitly punished, other than being transferred to other units within the department.

Quotes

"When the police are indistinguishable from the bad guys, then society has a serious problem.": – District Attorney Lynne Abraham

"The history of these kinds of scandals is that cops go right back to acting as they always have when the dust settles, because the pressure they most feel is the pressure to produce results, the constant demand to get the job done.": – FBI official associated with the case [http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,987539-9,00.html]

"We didn't own and operate the system. We didn't invent it. We were just some of the many thousands of custodians. We inherited it.": – Officer John Baird, quoted in the "Philadelphia Inquirer"Fact|date=February 2007

References

* Don Terry, "Philadelphia shaken by criminal police officers," New York Times, August 28, 1995.
* Michael Kramer, "How cops go bad," Time magazine, December 15, 1997.
* Mark Fazlollah, "From prison, ex-cops call offenses routine," Philadelphia Inquirer, May 12, 1996.
* Mark Fazlollah, "Phila. ordered to report on police," Philadelphia Inquirer, March 28, 1997
* Christopher McDougall, "Law and Disorder," Philadelphia Weekly, June 18, 1997
* Interview with Brad Bridge, city public defender's office, August 20, 1996.
* McDougall, "Law and Disorder," Philadelphia Weekly.
* [http://www.hrw.org/reports98/police/uspo108.htm Shielded from Brutality: Police Corruption in the United States] .
* [http://www-unix.oit.umass.edu/~kastor/newjersey/nj-crime-4 New Jersey Crime Line - Special Issue on Police Corruption]
* [http://www.quixote.org/ej/archives/mumia/corr.html Trampling the Public Trust: Philadelphia Police Abuses Reveal Systemic Injustice]