Trigger Figures

The Wachovia tragedy brings out the pols.

by Tom Namako

on the scene

The same day two armed guards were assassinated outside a Northeast Wachovia, two state Republican heavyweights arrived to share their homicide-reduction plans. House Speaker Dennis O'Brien and Rep. John Perzel's appearances weren't surprising; with little to no chance of a Republican mayor in City Hall come January, the GOP has relied on state legislators to tout their crime-fighting ideas. Not that there's much of a difference between parties.

Michael Nutter wants 500 new cops; so does O'Brien. Both agree that the existing social services for students, prisoners and parolees need overhauls. And during the primary, U.S. Rep. Chaka Fattah touted high-tech devices like acoustic gunshot recognition systems, which Perzel has also supported.

But the one dividing issue never came up: allowing the city to enforce its own gun-control laws.

On that, the GOP brass hasn't budged a bit, even as Perzel held a press conference last Thursday outside the 15th police district, about a mile away from the parking lot massacre. The point was for Al Taubenberger to "endorse" Perzel's plan to add 1,300 cops, with the state footing half the bill. Campaign managers and legislative aides outnumbered media. No police were there.

Perzel implied that the new officers would reduce homicides to a manageable level. When asked about a "one gun a month" law, he asked, "How would that help? They make their own gun laws in D.C. and there hasn't been much change."

A reporter followed up: Under such a law, a straw dealer would be able to put only 12 on the street each year. "Yeah, but if you buy too many guns, they'll be watching for you," Perzel said.

"Is there a list?"

"Look, I understand your argument," Perzel said, ending the conversation. "But I still disagree."

Later that evening, O'Brien remained on point at his 57th Ward meeting at Rosewood Caterers on Frankford Avenue; he went on a 30-minute rally, at times flailing his arms and yelling, deriding Mayor Street for nepotism and Ed Rendell for taking credit for O'Brien's ideas, stressing that crime can be solved by focusing on revamping the prison system and criminal recidivism, two goals of a bill O'Brien has pushed. "The number of homicides in Philadelphia is not connected to the number of shootings," he said to a sea of head-nods. When asked to explain later, he said, "Shootings are down. The police commissioner agrees with me on this. There are other reasons for the homicides."