New video in park ranger attack raises questions

LOVE PARK RANGER Erron Williams testified in court last week that he did nothing to provoke a skateboarder's violent attack on him last month.

And as Curtis Tanner's punches and kicks rained down on him, Williams said, he did nothing to return the violence. A tourist's video that showed Williams collapsed on the ground, trying to ward off kicks to his shoulder and head, went viral after the Aug. 15 beating.

"I'm not trying to have no confrontation," Williams testified yesterday during Tanner's preliminary hearing for aggravated assault and related offenses. "I can't touch him . . . I'm just trying to get him off me."

But a new video has emerged that raises questions about the ranger's recollection of the incident.

The blurry, 15-second video shows two men who appear to be Tanner and Williams trading blows in a sunken, secluded walkway of the park near the visitors' center.

"I'm about to f--- you up!" the ranger shouts, as he jumps into a boxing stance and throws at least three punches at his opponent.

The video was posted eight days ago on @loveparkphiladelphia's Instagram. It's unclear who maintains the account and who posted the video, which has more than 250 likes and is simply captioned: "lock em both up."

Samuel A. DiMatteo, Tanner's attorney, didn't return calls for comment.

Williams has been a city park ranger since 2007. City spokesman Mark McDonald declined to discuss the newest video, saying, "We do not comment on pending litigation."

Joseph Whitehead, the assistant district attorney prosecuting Tanner, referred comment to his office's spokeswoman Tasha Jamerson.

Jamerson thanked the Daily News for alerting her office to the newest video.

"No one in this office had seen this video until it was brought to our attention late Wednesday afternoon. We will carefully review the video and all other information in this case and proceed accordingly," Jamerson said.

Tanner, 19, of Pottstown, remains jailed on $10,000 bail pending a Sept. 25 arraignment.

Williams testified last week that the incident began when he approached a group of skateboarders about 5:25 p.m. that day to boot them out of the packed park, where skating is forbidden.

But Williams said one balking boarder instead sped straight at him, and another, Tanner, attacked him while a third skateboarder filmed everything.

Blog: phillyconfidential.com