Police Commissioner Kevin Bethel on Thursday said it was “absolutely unacceptable” for District Attorney Larry Krasner to have effectively blamed two police officers for sinking a prior murder case against the man now accused of fatally shooting Officer Shane Seiber.
At a news conference Thursday alongside U.S. Attorney David Metcalf and other federal law enforcement partners, Bethel addressed Eric Lewis’ prior acquittal for the first time, condemning what he described as finger-pointing while the city’s law enforcement community was reeling from Seiber’s death.
Bethel did not directly name Krasner, but his remarks appeared aimed squarely at the city’s top prosecutor, who last week released a YouTube video criticizing the conduct of a police officer and a homicide detective involved in Lewis’ earlier murder case and calling their behavior “arguably criminal.”
Krasner said his prosecutors “did everything humanly possible” to convict Lewis, and insinuated not only that it was the officers’ fault Lewis was later acquitted, but that their misconduct left Lewis free to kill Seiber, 40, and seriously wound Officer Hector Rodriguez years later.
Bethel said the statements were an unacceptable escalation at a moment of profound grief.
“I’ve never seen that in my entire career, where when my family was suffering, when the city was suffering — and it wasn’t just about me and the Philadelphia Police Department — the community was suffering, my officers were suffering, and you stand up and you talk about something that is unnecessary?” Bethel said.
The commissioner said he did not “want to turn this into a back-and-forth.”
But “anyone who believes it was right” to levy that criticism in that moment should walk with him into the homes of grieving family members and answer their questions, he said.
Krasner, who was not at the news conference, declined to immediately respond Thursday, saying he hadn’t yet heard Bethel’s remarks.
The exchange — which came as Metcalf announced a series of federal gun and robbery crimes against Lewis, 35, that could send him to prison for life — marked Bethel’s most forceful public response yet in the aftermath of the crime that has shaken the city’s law enforcement community. Seiber was laid to rest on Tuesday. Rodriguez, 33, remains hospitalized.
It was also a notable departure from Bethel’s usual posture toward Krasner. While the commissioner has privately expressed disagreements with the district attorney’s policies and statements, he has avoided public spars, and, instead, has sought to project a united front as the city works to reduce violence crime.
Bethel acknowledged that shift Thursday.
“I’ve been at this work almost for 40 years. Never once have I stood up in front of an audience and talked about my conflicts with the district attorney’s office. Never once have I presented the issues that I deal with on a daily basis and that my men and women have to endure,” he said.
But the commissioner was outraged by Krasner’s video last week, according to a person familiar with his thinking who was not authorized to speak publicly, and decided Thursday he could no longer go without addressing it.
Bethel said there was much to the earlier murder case against Lewis — a 2019 road rage shooting in West Philadelphia that left Christopher Williams, 32, dead — that still needed to be reviewed.
Lewis was identified as a suspect in Williams’ killing after then-Police Officer Naeem Crawley gave homicide detectives a tip that Lewis was the gunman.
But Krasner said Crawley, who was later engaged to Lewis’ sister, then made up an alternative suspect, lied to prosecutors, and sought to “torpedo” his testimony before trial. The homicide detective in the case, Laura Harris, also failed to secure investigative records, including Lewis’ cell phone location data.
Krasner said Harris “misled people” about the steps she took in the case and “filled out law enforcement paper falsely.” Harris declined to comment last week.
Bethel fired Crawley, he said. And while there is a time for police and prosecutors to review the shortcomings of that case, he said it was not in the immediate aftermath of Seiber’s killing.
Still, Bethel insinuated that it is also the job of Krasner’s prosecutors to ensure detectives acquire evidence for a successful trial.
“You duty is to work behind the scenes to make sure we do it effectively,” he said.
The Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 5 also issued a statement Thursday condemning Krasner’s statements — a similarly marked shift for union President Roosevelt Poplar, who has largely displayed a friendly relationship with Krasner in stark contrast to his predecessor, John McNesby.
“It is disgraceful that District Attorney Krasner would use the murder of a Philadelphia police officer as an opportunity to deflect responsibility and scapegoat the very officers who put their lives on the line every day to protect this city,” the union wrote.
Krasner, the union said, “misrepresented the facts” of the prior case and “chose to spread misinformation, assign blame, and attack the Philadelphia Police Department” in the immediate aftermath of an officer’s murder.
At the end of the news conference Thursday, Bethel apologized to Metcalf for his comments, which he said he doesn’t want to be a distraction. He said he trusts his federal partners to hold Lewis accountable.
“This has been a very emotional week,” he said. “Yes, I am frustrated and I can get fired up, but I want to make sure that everyone knows in this room, that this is a relationship built on trust, on support. … and the men and women of this police department appreciate everything they’re doing today.”
Inquirer staff reporter Chris Palmer contributed to this article.