Frank Tepper, who was stripped of his badge in January, plans to surrender this morning at Police Headquarters, said his attorney, Fortunato Perri.

Tepper, 43, faces murder and two other charges in the fatal shooting of 21-year-old William Panas Jr. after a November street brawl outside Tepper's Port Richmond home.

While Perri said his client was attacked and responded appropriately, several witnesses said Tepper - whom neighbors branded as a longtime bully - essentially executed the young man.

The victim's family has maintained a sidewalk memorial and waged a campaign to have Tepper charged with murder. On Friday, family and friends staged a rally at City Hall.

"I was expecting some kind of decision," the victim's father, William Panas Sr., said yesterday. "Was I expecting this? . . . You never know what's going to happen, especially when it's a police officer."

Williams took office in January promising to make swift decisions in police shootings and allegations of misconduct.

The Tepper shooting was the most recent and highest-profile case awaiting him, and he described yesterday's decision as a fulfillment of his promise.

"The public demands that we apply the same standards of justice to every case regardless of the status of the victim or defendant," he said. "I have imposed that standard in this case."

Williams had criticized his predecessor, Lynne M. Abraham, for taking years to make decisions in some controversial police cases.

In others, she preferred to rely on grand juries to sort out the evidence, rather than making a unilateral decision.

Abraham seated a grand jury in December to hear evidence in the Tepper shooting, but Williams stopped sending witnesses before the panel after he took office.

His decision to charge Tepper, he said, came from a review of the case file and further investigation. He said there was "sufficient evidence" to sustain the murder charge, but he would not elaborate.

Police Commissioner Charles H. Ramsey was "in total agreement with the D.A.'s decision" to charge Tepper, said Deputy Commissioner Richard Ross.

Ross also said the department supported the general proposition of moving quickly to resolve thorny police cases.

"It's an issue of public confidence," he said.

John McNesby, president of Lodge 5 of the Fraternal Order of Police, did not return a phone call seeking comment on the charges against Tepper.

Williams inherited several other unresolved police shootings, and he has promised to review a 2008 shooting involving another off-duty officer, Chauncey Ellison. Abraham cleared Ellison in the final days of her administration.

Police said Ellison shot Lawrence Allen after the two men scuffled. Allen was paralyzed, and died months later.

Allen's family said in a federal lawsuit that Ellison fired without provocation, striking Allen in the back.

Williams said yesterday that he could not discuss open cases.

"I can tell you that I will not hesitate to examine and possibly reexamine similar cases and take prompt action when warranted," he said.

Panas said he "had more faith in Seth Williams" than in Abraham. When Williams took office, "I knew we had a better shot at the title," he said.

Tepper, a 16-year veteran of the force, had been assigned to the Civil Affairs Unit, whose duties include monitoring demonstrations and labor disputes.

He left his Elkhart Street home about 11 p.m. Nov. 21 to break up a fight involving two to three dozen teenagers and young adults, police said.

Panas' father said his son also was trying to break up the fight after one of his friends was punched.

One witness said Tepper was hit in the nose, drew his gun, and chased off the brawlers. Several witnesses said that Tepper appeared drunk and that Panas never threatened him.

Williams refused to comment on whether Tepper had been drinking. Perri said he had not seen the toxicology report on his client.

According to witness accounts, Panas stopped and told Tepper, "Come on, you're not going to shoot me," and Tepper then shot Panas in the chest.

Tepper's attorney said that "we believe the evidence will show he was being attacked by a group of individuals outside his home."

"We're prepared to defend the case and . . . Tepper looks forward to being exonerated," Perri said.

Neighbors said Tepper earned a reputation as a bully. After a neighborhood dustup several years ago, his police superiors warned him against taking the law into his own hands, according to police records.

Tepper had gone looking for a teenager who had bullied his then-8-year-old son, and ended up in a confrontation with several youths, according to the records.

He sprayed Mace at the youths, was punched in the face, and drew his gun, the records said.

Tepper left his Port Richmond home after the Panas shooting and has been living elsewhere. Police guarded the empty house for months.

"It's been a very difficult and trying time for him and his family," Perri said. "He lost a job that he loved and dedicated his life to."