Watching the Detectives

EVERY VOTE COUNTS: With few high-profile contests, other than the race for district attorney, Tuesday's primaries didn't draw a big turnout.
Photo By: Michael T. Regan

by Mary F. Patel

After more than a decade, the Philadelphia chapter of the NAACP is dropping the lawsuit that resulted in the creation of the Integrity and Accountability Office, an independent police watchdog.

The NAACP, the lead plaintiff, along with Latino civil rights advocates, filed the lawsuit in 1996 in response to a federal investigation a year earlier that found police officers in the 39th District in North Philadelphia framed alleged narcotics dealers and then beat and robbed them. The investigation also determined that the officers lied under oath to convict the suspects. This resulted in the arrests and imprisonment of six police officers and hundreds of criminal cases being overturned. The city has had to pay almost $5 million in wrongful-arrest suits stemming from the scandal.

In a court-ordered settlement, the city agreed that the Police Department would be reformed and would be under continual monitoring by an independent body. Enter the Integrity and Accountability Office (IAO), which was created under former Police Commissioner Richard Neal to observe police activity and generate periodic reports that would be made available to the public. Federal Judge Stewart Dalzell monitored the case and was given IAO reports.

James Jordan was appointed by then-Mayor Ed Rendell to be the first director of the office. He was succeeded by Ellen Green-Ceisler, who was appointed by Mayor John Street. Her latest report, on police shootings between 1998 and 2003, was released this past March and was critical of how the Police Department investigated them. Shortly after presenting the report, Green-Ceisler resigned to run for a seat on Common Pleas Court but was defeated in that quest Tuesday.

After her departure, there were rumors that Street was not going to continue the office, but now that the NAACP plans to withdraw the suit, replacing Green-Ceisler may become a moot point. J. Whyatt Mondesire, president of the Philadelphia NAACP, said he has already informed the City Solicitor's Office that they are withdrawing the suit.

"Times have changed," says Mondesire. "That office has outlived its usefulness. The Police Department has improved. We have a good police commissioner in Sylvester Johnson and we have the Police Advisory Commission." He cited the legal expenses the city must pay to monitor the case as another motivating factor.

Chief Deputy City Solicitor Carlton Johnson, who also heads up the Civil Rights Litigation Unit and who helped draft the 1996 settlement, essentially agreed with Mondesire. He said his office was notified a few months ago of the NAACP's intentions.

"We would like to see this come to a successful conclusion," says Johnson. "The Police Department has made tremendous achievements. The agreement is a living, breathing document that needs to evolve. The Police Department can initiate their own reports and send them to the Law Department for review."

Civil rights attorney Alan Yatkin, who along with David Rudovsky, is a monitor of the case for the city, said he was not aware of the withdrawal but said, "It would be a shame." He added, "But I don't know if they can just do that without the court's permission in a public suit like this. The monitoring was positive and I would not want to see it end."

Johnson said that he regularly meets with Rudovsky and Dalzell and he thought if all parties agreed, then the court would also.

Police Commissioner Johnson concurs with Mondesire and the deputy solicitor that IAO is no longer needed.

"I never had any problems with her [Green-Ceisler]. But we had changes under Commissioner John Timoney and then with me. I never wanted these things to happen," said Johnson, referring to past negative police conduct.

In 1993, Johnson was detailed from the Police Department to the FBI and worked with the Police Department on the 1996 corruption case. Johnson stressed that although the ultimate decision of whether the IAO stays or goes is up to the mayor, he feels that the Police Department is his responsibility and that the department will respect the rights of both officers and civilians alike.

While many have praised Green-Ceisler"s work, Mondesire has a different opinion. "I"m glad she"s gone. She never gave her reports to the NAACP. We only learned about it after we read it in the newspapers," he said.

Green-Ceisler stands by her work.

"The role of an independent auditor has been effective and essential and it would be a shame for the city if it would not continue," she said. "The NAACP"s lawyers stopped showing up at the hearings long ago. My reports have been available to everyone."

The other plaintiffs in the suit are the ACLU and the Police/Barrios Relations Project.

The ACLU did not return calls about the NAACP"s actions and the Police/Barrios Relations Project"s phone has been disconnected.

The lawsuit withdrawal comes in the wake of last month"s police brutality case in the Northeast where a black police officer repeatedly punched a white suspect.

Now Street, who asked for a full investigation of the incident, must decide the fate of the IAO. His spokeswoman, Deborah Bolling, declined to comment on the issue.

Primary Color

There were not many surprises in Tuesday's elections. Incumbent Democrat Lynne Abraham handily beat primary challenger Seth Williams. The outcome was expected, considering Abraham's strong support from the party.

Alan Butkovitz, the sole Democratic nominee for city controller, shared the stage with Abraham Tuesday night at the Warwick Hotel. Abraham faces Republican Louis Schwartz in the general election and Butkovitz's opponent will be Hillel Levinson.

All of Gov. Rendell's appointees to the bench will keep their jobs: Charles Cunningham, Susan Schulman, Walter Olszewski and Glenn Bronson. Other Common Pleas winners were Lisette Shirdan-Harris, Leon Tucker, Frank Palumbo and Anne Butchart, the favorite among lesbian and gay voters. Judicial upsets included John Dougherty's candidate, Ira Shrager, and Green-Ceisler, who was a favorite of good-government types.

Brad Moss will keep his seat on Municipal Court while Democrats Karen Simmons and David Shuter still have to compete with Nazario Jimenez in the general.