Twists in shooting case spark rallies

Protesters held a demonstration at City Hall yesterday against a judge's controversial decision to limit charges against a former Philadelphia police sergeant to involuntary manslaughter for his role in the shooting death of a West Philadelphia man last summer. Meanwhile, a second demonstration in Northeast Philadelphia was organized by the Fraternal Order of Police and others to show support for the former officer, Anthony Brasten, and law enforcement in general. Common Pleas Judge Carolyn Temin dropped charges of voluntary manslaughter and reckless endangerment against Brasten but ordered him to stand trial for involuntary manslaughter for his role in the June 26 shooting death of Charles Matthews. The decision incensed both Brasten supporters, who described him as a hero for saving the life of a colleague, and community leaders, who felt that Brasten used excessive force in a racially motivated incident and deserved harsher punishment. Brasten shot and killed Matthews after rescuing a fellow officer, who had responded to a disturbance call a short time earlier and was hit by police crossfire. Over 200 people, led by State Sen. Hardy Williams, City Councilperson Michael Nutter and State Rep. Curtis Thomas chanted, "We fired up, can't take it no more!" and "No justice, no peace!" while carrying unlit candles symbolizing the "absence of light and truth." "We are here to call attention to the injustice pervasive across the nation, we are here to declare that we will no longer be silent, we are here to march until justice prevails," said Jerome Cooper, chairperson of the Delaware Valley Ecumenical Council and organizer of the City Hall rally, amidst thunderous applause and cheering. Cooper also cited a ruling yesterday in Fort Worth, Texas, in which a white skinhead was given 10 years probation rather than a jail sentence in the drive-by shooting death of a black man. He warned of similar incidents happening in Philadelphia. At the same time, protesters in the Mayfair section of Northeast Philadelphia gathered to show support for Brasten, praising him as a brave hero and criticizing the decision to charge him at all. Councilperson Joan Krajewski, whose district includes the site of the demonstration, outlined her views on the incident. "We're here to support the police," she said. "[Brasten] was a man just doing his job who went above and beyond the call of duty, risking his life to save a fellow cop. There is no way he should be treated like this." Brasten was originally arrested last month, but a Philadelphia grand jury threw out the charges, saying the prosecution did not have a case. He was rearrested last Thursday following public protests by Williams and Cooper. Brasten was one of several policemen called to investigate a disturbance June 26 at Matthews' residence, at 56th and Montrose streets in West Philadelphia. Police believed that Matthews, who was holding an unloaded gun, was pointing a loaded weapon and was about to open fire when they began shooting, hitting Brasten's colleague Derrick Lyles. Thinking it was Matthews who had shot Lyles, Brasten went over to pull Lyles out of the crossfire and then rushed over and shot Matthews 11 times in the back. When the smoke had cleared, investigators found that police had fired 85 times at Matthews, hitting him 23 times. At yesterday's City Hall rally, Williams blasted Temin's decision and urged constituents to vote her out of office. He added that he hoped public officals to appear at a second City Hall rally scheduled for next week, saying, "If public officials aren't here at this rally next week, it shows they don't care about justice." At the Mayfair rally, Krajewski had harsh words for city officials involved at the City Hall rally. "People, including several who should know better, are trying to exploit this issue for their own purposes, by making it a racial issue," she said.

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