PHILADELPHIA. While Democratic frontrunner Seth Williams will likely be the city's first African-American district attorney, his skin color won't be enough to fix the issue.
"I don’t know that it changes because he’s Afro-American," said William Johnson, head of the Police Advisory Commission. "I think it changes because of who he is. He's someone who’s always taken a stand for the average guy."
Published 19:42, October the 12th, 2009
Community relations and the next DA
PHILADELPHIA. The uproar over three black men severely beaten by police on videotape last year may have quieted, but not in the mind of Diop Olugbala.
Olugbala was among dozens who protested the beating and, most recently, the conclusion of the grand jury investigation by the DA's office, which resulted in no charges being pressed against the cops involved.
"There’s definitely a bad relationship between Lynne Abraham and the African community, but the relationship between the DA’s office and the community didn’t begin with her," said Olugbala, a member of the International People’s Democratic Uhuru Movement, who pointed back to the Frank Rizzo administration of the 70s.
Most agree that patching up the disjointed relationship between residents and the DA's office will be one of the stiffest challenges facing Abraham's successor in a city where blacks still represent a disproportionate number of the prison population.
One major problem, critics say, is the lack of urgency when it comes to prosecuting police and the well-connected. Abraham's office could not be reached for comment.