for BigTrial.net
Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw has announced that the cops made 429 arrests over three days of rioting, looting and arson fires.
But over at the District Attorney's office, several sources say, the Great Emancipator, D.A. Larry Krasner has been busy doing what he does best, liberating criminals.
According to sources, many suspects that the cops arrested for burglary or criminal trespass over the weekend have gotten a free pass from the D.A.'s charging unit because of a technicality -- that the cops did not obtain an official "ownership non-permission," or "ONP" as it's known in cop jargon, from store owners.
What's ONP? It means that when the cops, who had days off canceled and were working long shifts in the middle of a riot, apprehended a suspect inside a burgled store, or caught the suspect red-handed carrying out loot, they also had to obtain from the store owner an ONP. Why? To certify that the burglar didn't have official permission to enter the store. So the D.A. could charge the suspect with a crime.
It supposedly didn't matter to Uncle Larry if there was video of the crime, or that the cops had personally witnessed the rioters or looters in action. The D.A. was also said to be releasing suspects "ROR," based on their own recognizance, without having to post cash bail.
Those actions shouldn't surprise anybody. Krasner has long opposed cash bail. He also has a documented history of representing protesters accused of breaking the law on behalf of all sorts of radical causes, such as freeing convicted cop killer Mumia Abu-Jamal, or rabble-rousing on behalf of Black Lives Matter and Antifa.
In case anybody missed the point, Sonan Vachhani, one of Krasner's assistant D.A.'s who works in the charging unit, posted on Instagram a message on Saturday night, while the city was under siege, that said, "FUCK THE COPS."
In a Monday interview on MSNBC, Krasner, who only speaks to fellow Progressives in the media, described the majority of protesters as "good people expressing themselves about an issue that should have been addressed a long time ago."
Unfortunately, Krasner said, the "good people" were accompanied by "opportunistic criminals who are are looting and who are doing other things in the city."
When asked how he was going to separate the "good people" from the "opportunistic criminals," Krasner said, "What we're doing is what we always do. We're doing individual justice."
"You don't lump anybody" together, Krasner lectured. If the people arrested were "simply protesting, we're not going to charge anything."
Krasner, who's been stonewalling this reporter for ten months, did not not respond to a request for comment. Neither did Jane Roh, his official spokesperson, who's also been mute for the past 10 months since I made her look ridiculous in this story.
[When you're paid $118,000 a year and you're incompetent, it's best to continue to hide that fact by not making a bigger fool of yourself, right Jane?]
On another subject, in the insanity that engulfed Philadelphia this weekend, local media outlets lightened the mood by broadcasting heartwarming video of cops and National Guard officers kneeling in solidarity with protesters.
But some people got upset when the kneeling suddenly became mandatory. Deputy Commissioner Melvin Singleton was caught on cameral yesterday ordering cops and National Guard members to kneel in solidarity with protesters outside the Municipal Services Building near the Frank Rizzo statue.
Singleton was seen in the above video emphatically waving his arms to motion the troops to kneel down.
FOP President John McNesby, who couldn't be reached for comment, was quoted on social media as saying that he had talked to both Outlaw and Singleton about the incident.
If any cop wanted to voluntarily kneel "in support of George Floyd, you have that right," McNesby wrote on social media. "However, no one will be ordered to do so."
Some cops were angry about what Singleton did.
"Singleton's ridiculous display was the most embarrassing thing I have ever seen," one cop said. "No way that [MFer] would get me to kneel. I kneel in church. He had no clue what he was doing."
"That's what you do when you surrender," one critic said on Twitter. "Absolutely fucking embarrassing," said another.
On the positive side, after a third day of rioting, the police yesterday were seen on live TV firing tear gas, non-lethal pellets and bean bags to clear the Vine Street Expressway of protesters who wanted to block traffic.
"Today's deployment of tear gas was a means to safety diffuse a volatile and dangerous situation and restore order, when it became increasingly clear that other measures were ineffective in accomplishing that necessary objective," Police Commissioner Outlaw said in a statement.
Mayor Kenney, however, was apologetic about having to defend the city against further chaos, arson and looting.
"The use of tear gas during a demonstration is something that I never waned to witness during my time as mayor," the mayor said in a written statement. "I"m deeply saddened that peaceful protests for such an important cause are being diminished by actions that threaten public safety."
Perhaps someone should remind Kenney that for three months now, law-abiding citizens have been robbed of their constitutional rights to go to church, or work, or open their businesses, or go out to a restaurant, bar, or movie theater because of Kenney's emergency orders that placed the city under lockdown because of official panic over the coronavirus.
A panic that should be over by now.
But none of these restrictions have been lifted. And now Kenney has added to the burdens a nightly curfew of 6 p.m., because of the actions of the rioters that he pandered to, in an unsuccessful attempt to placate them. And then when things got out of control, Kenney and his rookie police commissioner were caught flat-footed.
The result: looted stores on ransacked blocks, millions of dollars in property damage, and a city left smoldering with arson fires.
Ordinary Joes can't leave their houses. But in the Progressive mind of Kenney, the one right that trumps all the other rights of mankind is the right for demonstrators to assemble to protest the death of George Floyd. Even though for three straight days, those protests have served to provide official cover for rioters and looters.
At a press conference, State Rep. Martina White stated that the city was "under siege" by "well organized anarchists," and that the reason why was "a lack of leadership."
"Where was our governor? Where was the mayor? Where was the district attorney?" she asked.
While the riots were on, so was the usual gun violence. Over the weekend, there were 32 shootings in the city, including nine murders.
Meanwhile, a member of the police SWAT team posted a message on Facebook praising our rookie police commissioner for finally going on offense against the protesters.
The SWAT team member said that he knew "many of the PPD officers aren't thrilled with the new commissioner, especially during the first day of the riots."
"Remember, she has a boss too, the mayor, and we know he is an ultra liberal," the SWAT team member wrote.
But he added, "the commissioner allowed SWAT to use gas, pepper balls and bean bag rounds against the rioters/looters!!! She's the first commissioner to [have] the balls to allow this in at least 30 years!!! I, for one, greatly appreciate it!!"