Jimmie Moore: Call out National Guard for Philly crime
Jimmie Moore, the former Philadelphia Municipal Court judge challenging U.S. Rep. Bob Brady for the 1st Congressional District in the April 24 Democratic primary election, just called on the U.S. Army National Guard to be deployed in the streets of the city to combat crime.
Jimmie Moore: Call out National Guard for Philly crime
Chris Brennan
Jimmie Moore, the former Philadelphia Municipal Court judge challenging U.S. Rep. Bob Brady for the 1st Congressional District in the April 24 Democratic primary election, just called on the U.S. Army National Guard to be deployed in the streets of the city to combat crime.
Brady, through a spokesman, declined to comment on Moore's call.
UPDATE, 5:40 pm: Mark McDonald, a spokesman for Mayor Nutter, calls Moore's call for the National Guard deployment "a misguided proposal by a political candidate in search of media attention."
Here's Moore's statement:
Enough is Enough: Call in the Guard
The murder rate in this city has reached epidemic proportions. Our local law enforcement agencies are stretched to the limit, and that is why I am calling for the support of the National Guard to support the brave men and women of the Philadelphia Police Department in their efforts to not only respond to but also prevent the record levels of violent crime spreading across the city and leading to a state of emergency. We are only one month into 2012 and there are already 32 murders on the books, that’s more than a murder a day.
The National Guard is frequently called on to aide cities in crisis, including post-Katrina New Orleans, Camden, and Chicago. The presence of this arm of the military can have a proactive effect on communities through the prevention of violent crime. Philadelphia has seen a rise in unprovoked acts of violence that requires the most drastic of measures, including the fatal beating of a recent Temple graduate in Old City, and the Vietnam veteran assaulted by teens in Olney. That is why the presence of the National Guard is urgently needed in the city; we must not be a silent party to this culture of crime.
A particularly senseless act of violence this past weekend involving a cab driver and passenger brought to light the paralysis of a community that sits and watches in terror as these brazen assaults were perpetrated before their eyes. Our residents are gripped with fear; this is not a time to put sunglasses over the black eye that is this violent scourge upon our city: it is time to move forward and go to the doctor. Yes, we should be ashamed that a small number of criminal s have taken over our neighborhoods, but we must not be so ashamed and proud that we turn our backs on the most vulnerable to save face in front of the nation, and if that means drawing national attention to the danger in our midst, then so be it. It is time to take the bold action of asking for the federal government to step in and help us take back the city.
I applaud the law enforcement officers and public officials who work tirelessly to make this city a safer place to live. The federal government should be providing all available resources to help these public servants protect the citizens of Philadelphia, and that includes the deployment of the National Guard to patrol and provide surveillance in our most at-risk neighborhoods and populations. Just like the community leaders in the movie “Jaws” didn’t want to close the beach down because it would be bad for tourism and a black eye on their town, there will be those that don’t want to stigma of having what they might call martial law in Killadelphia. Meanwhile, we cannot stand idly by while the jaws of violence are terrorizing, maiming, and killing our neighbors. In 2011 Philadelphia had the highest murder rate of large cities in this country. Building a coalition between local and national law enforcement bodies is the solution we need to defeat the violence that has swept across our city, and overcome the fear that has taken hold in our communities.
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Da brothas! Da sistas!— rubbermaid- I want to know what happened to those 2 Mastery "students" who pummeled the white man on 4th and Walnut for no reason to the point he had his jaw wired shut and had to eat through a straw. What happened to them???— knicks84
- Good point. If they got off easy, it suggests we aren't serious in stopping these attacks. As Cleanup mentioned, if don't enforce our laws, we're just blowing smoke.
— Jean Valjean - Shame, shame shame on these parents that have no control of their kids. They are like animals having a litter then leaving them run free and fend for themselves. Shame on the judges who just slap the wrists of these things that i wont even call a animal, because a animal acts better. shame on the people who wont snitch and allowed this to fester into this. Now you want the government to pay to keep your kids under control. Very democrat solution.— vallymom
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- All 3 of the above murders/assults should be tried as hate crimes but I'm waiting to hear the DA's reason why these charges have not yet be filed. Double standard once again.— BobbyD
- CleanupPhilly, I could not agree with you more.— MoneyMan1115
- Take a course, learn to aim properly, get a permit, protect yourself. Obama has taken care of the rest. He's gonna take your tax dollars and give them free health care anyway.— cdobsox
- Da brothas! Da sistas!— rubbermaid
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Regarding the youngest of the criminal vermin: End the SEPTA passes.
These allow these kids to go all over the city at taxpayer expense, and they use the passes to enter the CC area, and cause mayhem. Tokens only! One week of school=10 tokens. Schools can distribute them. Don't go to school? No tokens. Also....a curfew for those under 18. School days, in by 10pm. Weekends: midnight. Violators are picked up by Nat'l Guard or police, go to a judge and within two hours of violation, corporal punishment for violators. One dozen lashes with a cane. Females too. No ID on you? All kids in school to be fingerprinted. No ID also means you are assumed to be under 18.
Cruel and unusual? No ACLU? Get out of the way......or deport them with the illegals. This is WAR.
— Yermak29- silly political grandstanding. Can you imagine the optics of a camo clad guardsmen grabbing one of these youths in front of cameras?— Tom813
- Call in the Guard to shoot them on sight. Its difficult for a law abiding citizen to get a permit to carry a weapon and even more difficult once they fire that weapon in self defense. The Guard is trained in firearms and should be better marksmen.— psyrus
- Why not? They have them posted throughout NYC, though they're there to deter foreign terrorists. Unfortunately, Killy needs them to deter residents from terrorizing the city.— atlasmc
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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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