Tinted Justice

DA Williams: We tip the glass, but find it half-empty.

by Isaiah Thompson

It has come to the attention of Man Overboard! that a certain portion of the population is, to some degree, colorblind. To eyes of these unfortunate individuals, the most robust red, the garishest green appear as mere variations of basic brown.

Maybe that's my problem. Maybe that's why, where many see in District Attorney Seth Williams the green, grassy stripes of a reformer painting over the dull tones left by former DA Lynne Abraham, Man Overboard! has lately had trouble distinguishing one hue from another.

Since coming into office last spring on a platform of hope and change, Williams has done some impressive progressive work: his decision to lower the criminal penalties for marijuana possession, his push for community-based courts and locally focused prosecutors. To these and other accomplishments, we tip the glass — but find it half-empty.

In this week's cover story, I detail the now seven-month-long quest of one family, and touch on the quests of many more, to find closure and answers after a loved one was killed by police officers. Under Abraham, the process was known to drag on for years. Williams, though, promised "transparency."

But while the DA's office has moved quickly on a few high-profile cases — drug-dealing cops, or the case of officer Frank Tepper, who shot dead an unarmed man in an off-duty dispute — he appears in no rush to investigate dozens of other cases where police, right or wrong, wound up killing people.

Recently I made what seemed so basic a request that a progressive DA simply could not deny it : Since the DA investigates all fatal shootings by police, I wanted to know which ones they'd finished with.

But no dice. For the average Philadelphian, that might not mean much. But for families seeking answers, it's everything. Until the DA makes a ruling, officers cannot be questioned by their own investigators. During that time, witnesses inevitably disappear, or forget. Facts get lost. Potential cases wither.

In October, Williams waxed almost poetic to the Daily News, calling his office's failure to disclose for two months its ruling on the fatal shooting of innocent bystander Isaac Abebe, three years ago, "a learning lesson," and saying that releasing information on these cases was "the right thing to do."

Colorful words, but drab action. Instead, the DA's office appears to be releasing prompt decisions on those cases which make the front pages, while quietly stonewalling on the rest — painting justice, it seems, in shades of gray.

Tip your glass or take your shots: isaiah.thompson@citypaper.net.