Protesters were hauled away in handcuffs Thursday night after an angry crowd confronted the head of President Obama’s task force on policing over a decision not to charge Philadelphia police officers in the shooting death of a young black man.
About 40 people at a town-hall meeting in Philadelphia protested District Attorney Seth Williams’ decision not to charge two city police officers involved in the Dec. 15 shooting of Brandon Tate-Brown during a traffic stop. They shouted “shame on you!” at Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey, the head of Mr. Obama’s task force on 21st Century policing practices, and at Mr. Williams, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer.
The newspaper said backup police units were called to quell the disturbance, and officers removed some of the protesters in handcuffs.
Commissioner Ramsey told the paper that the outburst was “embarrassing” and said it showed why the department needed to withhold the names of the officers involved in the shooting of Mr. Tate-Brown.
“They got their little moment on TV,” Commissioner Ramsey said of the protesters.
Mr. Williams announced on Friday that an investigation had cleared the two officers in the shooting death, saying it was a tragedy but not a crime. The death of Mr. Tate-Brown, 25, sparked weeks of protests.
Mr. Obama appointed Commissioner Ramsey last December to lead the task force examining law-enforcement tactics and police relations with minority communities in the wake of two high-profile cases in Missouri and New York in which black men were killed in confrontations with officers. The task force released its preliminary recommendations earlier this month, including calls to diversify police departments and hold independent investigations of officer-involved shootings.
• Dave Boyer can be reached at dboyer@washingtontimes.com.
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