Court: Police guarded by immunity in abuse case

Despite the "unquestionably tragic" failure of Philadelphia police to protect the wife of a colleague from long-standing violence that ended when he shot her and killed himself, a federal appeals court ruled yesterday that the officers have immunity.

The 34-page opinion, which reversed a lower-court order, was the latest development in a civil suit filed by Jill Burella. She was married to George Burella, a 10-year veteran of the Philadelphia force when he shot her in the chest and then killed himself on Jan. 12, 1999.

Ralph J. Kelly, who represents Jill Burella, said that he had not yet seen the opinion and, therefore, could not comment. Craig R. Gottlieb, the city's attorney, could not be reached.

Joe Grace, a spokesman for Mayor Street, said the city was gratified that the court backed the city's legal analysis.

"We are considering some of the policy issues," Grace said, adding that he did not know the next step in the litigation.

In the suit, originally filed in February 2000, Jill Burella alleged that the Police Department knew her husband had a history of violence and mental problems but consistently failed to take action to protect her.

The three-judge panel of the Third Circuit Court of Appeals agreed that officers were unresponsive, but pointed out that the law does not give her "a constitutional right" to police protection.

Jill Burella did not allege any facts that suggested any behavior despite inaction, which the panel termed "deeply troubling and unquestionably tragic," but not sufficient under the law to deny the officers immunity.

"Although the Philadelphia Police Department's apparent disregard of Jill Burella's numerous pleas for help raises a serious question as to whether this was but one example of a larger pattern of mishandling domestic violence complaints, we cannot agree that the factual allegations and evidence . . . satisfy the requirements" for relief, the court said.

The suit, which includes the couple's three children as plaintiffs, details a pattern of abuse dating to 1996, including numerous 911 calls. In addition to multiple police officers, a city psychiatrist who saw George Burella on the day of the shooting is also named as a defendant.

According to the suit, George Burella was twice hospitalized for psychiatric treatment, once after a suicide attempt; was suspended without pay from the police force twice for incidents not related to his wife; and repeatedly violated protection-from-abuse orders, at least twice in the presence of other officers.

Four days before the shooting at the family's Somerton home, Jill Burella had obtained a third - and final - protection-from-abuse order, the opinion said.

The shooting prompted then-Police Commissioner John F. Timoney to revise department policy by requiring that police-issued sidearms be taken from any officer who is the subject of a protection order.

Timoney said then that his policy change would not have prevented the incident, noting that George Burella had used a privately owned gun.