US attorney blames Philadelphia DA for ‘culture of disrespect’ that led to police shootings
The U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania blamed Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner on Thursday for a “culture of disrespect” he claimed led to the shooting of six Philadelphia police officers.
“There is a new culture of disrespect for law enforcement in this City that is promoted and championed by District Attorney Larry Krasner – and I am fed up with it,” U.S. Attorney William McSwain said in a statement.
{mosads}“We’ve now endured over a year and a half of the worst kinds of slander against law enforcement – the DA routinely calls police and prosecutors corrupt and racist, even ‘war criminals’ that he compares to Nazis,” he wrote.
McSwain’s comments come after a gunman shot and wounded six Philadelphia police officers on Wednesday when they tried to serve a warrant. The suspect eventually surrendered to authorities after an hours-long standoff.
Krasner, who was elected district attorney in 2017, has made national headlines for his progressive criminal justice policies. In June 2018, Krasner reportedly requested a list of police officers who had lied on duty, racially profiled or violated civil rights, in an attempt to help prosecutors avoid relying on police officers with credibility issues as witnesses.
Krasner has also instructed prosecutors to offer shorter sentences in plea deals, decline certain classes of criminal charges and to stop seeking cash bail for certain misdemeanors and nonviolent felonies.
McSwain’s statement also blasts Krasner’s use of diversionary programs and accuses him of “routine downgrading of charges for violent crime.”
The comments echo remarks Attorney General William Barr made last week at a Fraternal Order of Police conference blasting “anti-law enforcement D.A.s” that he claimed would lead to “more crime [and] more victims.”
The Hill has reached out to Krasner’s office for comment.
Following the standoff yesterday, Krasner tweeted “To call the outcome of yesterday’s standoff a miracle is to not adequately recognize the incredible work of @PhillyPolice led by @PPDCommish Ross. All officers alive & released to their families. A dangerous individual in custody, certain to face justice.”
To call the outcome of yesterday’s standoff a miracle is to not adequately recognize the incredible work of @PhillyPolice led by @PPDCommish Ross. All officers alive & released to their families. A dangerous individual in custody, certain to face justice. https://t.co/qIr4KkvjSX
— DA Larry Krasner (@DA_LarryKrasner) August 15, 2019
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