Mondesire critical of grand jury's take on police beating

To J. Whyatt Mondesire, president of the Philadelphia branch of the NAACP, last year's videotaped police beating of three African American suspects was another example of the brutality that has driven a wedge between the police and the black community.

And last week's grand jury report exonerating the officers was, for Mondesire, the singular failure of District Attorney Lynne M. Abraham, who is leaving office next year after 19 years.

"Once again, our hopes for a more sane and cooperative relationship between the citizens and the police have been jeopardized by the outgoing district attorney," Mondesire said yesterday. "How stupid does [Abraham] think Philadelphians are?"

After the report was issued Thursday, Abraham said, "The video, in fact, did not speak for itself."

She also noted that 14 of the 23 members of the grand jury were African American and that they could not have been outvoted by the other members.

In response to Mondesire's remarks, her office simply asked the public to read the report, available on the district attorney's Web site at http://www.phila.gov/districtattorney/grandJury/Videotaped%20Arrest.html

Mondesire said that if Abraham had been interested in "seeking justice" in the case, she would have appointed a special prosecutor "without ties to the local police department." The case was presented to the grand jury by an assistant district attorney from her office.

Mondesire said Abraham "has one of the worst records prosecuting police-brutality allegations of any big-city prosecutor in the nation."

The grand jury recommended that no charges be filed against the officers who arrested Dwayne Dyches, Brian Hall, and Pete Hopkins on May 5, 2008.

A Fox29 news helicopter videotaped officers pulling the men from their car and kicking and hitting them.

On the strength of the video alone, Police Commissioner Charles H. Ramsey quickly fired four of the officers and disciplined four others.

The grand jury said the "force applied by police was helpful rather than hurtful" and was "aimed not to inflict injury, but to facilitate quick and safe arrests."

Police said they believed the three suspects fired into a crowd of people in North Philadelphia's Feltonville section before leading officers on a two-mile chase.

The men refused to stop for pursuing officers, refused to get out of the car after it was stopped, and resisted being handcuffed, the grand jury found after watching an enhanced version of the video.

Mondesire said that he did not think the officers necessarily needed to be indicted, but he believed the grand jury "could have acted in a more responsible manner given the history of police-community relations in this city."

"The language the grand jury used gives carte blanche, and that's dangerous," he said.

The four fired officers have filed greivances to get their jobs back. Mondesire said the NAACP would oppose their rehiring.

A Common Pleas Court jury acquitted the three suspects of attempted murder charges July 1. All three are preparing civil lawsuits against the city and the Police Department.