Fight Breaks Out in Council Balcony
A fight just broke out in City Council on the balcony level.
Fight Breaks Out in Council Balcony
Catherine Lucey
A fight just broke out in City Council on the balcony level.
Civil affairs officers broke up the altercation which stalled Council for several minutes. Two men were taken away in custody shouting: "Jail the killer cops now. The Philadelphia police are a bunch of thugs taking away people’s rights." One man also told a cop: "You hit like a sissy man."
A police officer pushed Daily News Chris Brennan out of the way when he tried to ask the men questions.
Apparently the men were from the Uhuru movement, a social justice group. Members of the group said they were protesting Nutter's budget decisions, as well as the death of a man named Sharif Lee Jones, who they say was killed by Philly cops.
"We're excercising our First Amendement rights, our Democratic rights," said Harris Daniels.
The donnybrook broke out while Council was honoring the Frankford Chargers football team. The players wore heavy red and white jackets that had patches saying "Sharif Jones RIP."
Daniels said Jones had played for the football team.
Oh I'm sure they are just fine upstanding taxpaying citizens that are excercising their First Amendment rights in a reasonable, responsible, and rational manner.— Tartan69- sounds like some community organizers got a lot of free time on their hands.— beeron
- Next time, let the parking authority tow their cars.— Philly_Guy
- it amazes me how ignorant posts make it through the filter on this site.— Dry Bones
This disgusts me. Instead of working to make the streets more peaceful so that cops don't feel the need to use "excessive force", this outspoken "group" decides to start yet another brawl. Haven't they heard of not fighting violence with violence? Instead of working against the police, try helping them. And I'm sure he wouldn't have told the cop he "hit like a sissy" had there not been security present.— amd804
No KKK signs?????— Earl J- They should've protested another time! It was those kids time to shine...The News didn't acknowledge the fact that the Frankford Chargers are National Pop Warner league champs! That's major! Very unclassy on the protesters part though.— Breath EZ
- Is this the same Shariff Jones who was killed back in December by a pizza delivery guy/retired cop when Jones, obviously a model citizen, tried to rob the pizza delivery guy? Yeah, I get their point. People like Shariff should be allowed to go around robbing people without having to fear getting killed in the process. Can't we get OSHA to regulate this?— Fascinated
- amd804 You make a good point initially, but end up falling back on, "hey, the cops should be criminals too!". Are you implying that he wouldn't have told the cop that he hit like a sissy if there wouldn't have been security there, because the cop would've beat him up in a streetfight? What??? The guy can say whatever the hell he wants and as soon as he gets out of line he should be arrested and thrown in jail. He should be arrested not beaten up, thats why we have laws.— avery33
- I didn't realize John Street was visiting City Hall today. :)— Timmy
- Oh, according to the next blog post, Street is in the audience. Did he get a swing in? I wonder if this is the same Uhuru that runs the furniture store on Spruce St. That lady always wants to give me a business card! Good store and good cause; it will be a shame if this incident tarnishes their image.— Timmy
Maybe the cops should be forgiven for fighting dirty now and then, everyone else does. Just saying... Its a dirty business in these streets.— gho_matt
Comment removed.- Comment removed.
- The 'Uhuru' movement should move to the Motherland if they search for justice. They ain't gonna get it here.— Flyers75
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David Gambacorta spent a small eternity writing about cops, drug dealers and serial killers. Now he’s writing about power and politics – which sometimes reminds him of the old crime beat. He joined the Daily News in 2005. And yes, he knows you’re not quite sure how to pronounce his last name. E-mail tips to gambacd@phillynews.com
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Jan Ransom, a native New Yorker, joined the Daily News in 2010 after graduating from Howard University. She has since written about the difficulty of filing police complaints, tax deadbeats and life after violent home invasions. She joined the Daily News City Hall Bureau in 2011 and has plunged headfirst into reporting on administration budget battles and City Council shenanigans. E-mail tips to ransomj@phillynews.com
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Sean Collins Walsh is from Bucks County and went to Northwestern University. He joined the Daily News copy desk in 2012 and now covers the Nutter administration. Before that, he interned at papers including The New York Times, The Dallas Morning News and The Seattle Times. E-mail tips to walshSE@phillynews.com
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