Posted on Fri, May. 9, 2008
This afternoon we'll hear the mournful bells of the Cathedral Basilica of SS. Peter and Paul toll after the Funeral Mass of yet another Philadelphia police officer.
Sgt. Stephen Liczbinski, a newly promoted 12-year veteran of the force whom friends laud as a devoted family man, a die-hard Flyers fan, and a cop's cop, didn't live long enough to see his 40th birthday. His life was snuffed out by a would-be bank robber with a SKS semiautomatic rifle.
His comrades, deeply seared by the slaying of one of their own, made good on their promise, nabbing the last remaining suspect late Wednesday without incident. Mission accomplished - before Liczbinski was laid to rest.
It couldn't have come soon enough for everyone. A family in mourning, neighborhoods in fear, cops on edge.
And there's little relief.
The headlines now - especially nationally - are dominated not by the capture of a fugitive in a cop killing, but by the actions of a group of Philly officers who, for a few raw, unedited moments on video, appear to be as ruthless as the criminals they pursue.
The video is getting heavy play on TV and all over YouTube. Cops seemingly hell-bent on meting out their own brand of justice - or injustice.
Mayor Nutter and Police Commissioner Charles H. Ramsey made the rounds of the national shows yesterday morning, cautioning against a rush to judgment, explaining that nerves were raw in light of a police "assassination" but rightly expressing their concern about the conduct captured on video for the world to see.
Philadelphia's reputation? Don't even go there.
How do you explain this one, cops going from their best to their worst in a split second?
On Monday night, police chased down three suspects in a shooting that undercover cops had just witnessed in Feltonville.
It didn't matter that the alleged triggerman had gotten away on foot. More than a dozen cops pulled the men out of their car, divided themselves into beating silos, and proceeded to kick and pummel each suspect into submission and beyond.
One especially hyped officer, seemingly zeroed in on equal-opportunity rage, took turns kicking one suspect and then dashing over to another beating circle to kick another.
An overcharged police dog barked and paced excitedly in the background, his handler seemingly as eager for fresh meat as the canine.
"I was shocked," State Sen. Anthony Hardy Williams (D., Phila.) said yesterday after viewing the video, "but I can't say I was surprised. These officers knew [the suspects] didn't have arms. They were clearly taking out their frustrations.
"I'm not saying those [suspects] were saints. But how are those cops going to be an example of professional behavior if they don't act professionally themselves?"
Don't get me wrong. Any officer who saw Sgt. Liczbinski's body torn apart by that lethal SKS on Saturday witnessed barbarism, too.
Understandably, the police are overworked and on edge after the week they've had, on top of the daily strain of trying to protect a city where coldhearted criminals pack guns like packs of gum. We should all be wary.
And no doubt any officer who observes men standing on a corner flashing guns can't help but feel there's a bullet with his or her name on it, too.
But what does it do for the memory of Sgt. Liczbinski when a group of his brothers in blue take it upon themselves to declare whipping season?
In the name of what?
Justice? Revenge? I don't know what they were thinking, but it's easy to guess they sought some kind of retaliation on their slain sergeant's behalf against anyone who remotely resembled Liczbinski's killers.
If so, doesn't that same vengeful conduct mirror the mind-set of the shooters in North Philadelphia, who went looking to avenge
their friend's shooting?
The problem with retaliation is that it never stops.
And when cops stoop to the level of criminals, lashing out in seething anger, nobody wins.
Not the cops, not the criminals, not law-abiding citizens, and certainly not Philadelphia, which national pundits took to calling "Killadelphia" yesterday.
Truth eventually will figure in this equation. Cops will be punished. The guilt of the suspects will be determined.
But the damage is done. The video speaks for itself. True, the overwhelming number of the 6,500 cops on the force are good cops who serve and protect with honor, and whose valiant work is never seen on video.
But I also can't help wondering just how often Monday night's chilling scenario plays out - when the tape isn't running.
Contact columnist Annette John-Hall at 215-854-4986 or ajohnhall@phillynews.com. To read her recent work: http://go.philly.com/annette.
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