All language subtitles for Philly.D.A.S01E07.1080p.WEBRip.x264-BAE_Track03

- Previously
on "Philly D.A."...

- There has not been prosecution

of police misconduct
for 30 years.

- What about all the officers
that say, "You know what?

This District Attorney's
not gonna have my back"?

- Weapon.

- Some police even starting
the hashtag

#NotMyDA.

- Nobody writes up
police paperwork to say,

"And then I lost my cool
and busted his nose."

- The FOP is very powerful.

They look at Larry as opposed
to everything they stand for.

- That is a culture that needs
to have its spine snapped.

[microphone feedback]

- Today, we are here to announce

the Zero Waste
and Litter Action Plan.

[cheers and applause]

- I want to thank everybody
involved in this process.

And sometimes,
when you talk about zero waste,

and you figure, "Oh, okay,
just put the recycling can out

and, you know, don't litter..."

- Excuse me, Councilman.
- Yeah.

- [inaudible]
since you haven't spoken

or answered any of our demands.

I'm sorry, people.
We'll only be a second.

- Okay.
- We're here to deal

with the death of David Jones.

Now we're asking you,
where do you stand on the death

and the shooting death
of David Jones?

- Do you want to have a meeting?

- I want you to say it
in front of everybody,

where you stand.
- You're not gonna dictate

the terms of our discussion.
- Then we gonna keep right here

while you're talking.

It's unacceptable.

We're not going away.

We want justice for David Jones.

- This is the Week of Rage.
[chanting indistinctly]

- Black and brown people

are under attack
by law enforcement.

- A Black man was shot.

I know you don't give
a damn about that.

- Protestors showed up at
the home of a police officer.

- Out in the far northeast,
in front of the home

of the officer Ryan Pownall.

- Justice for David Jones!

- Justice for David Jones!

- Justice for David Jones!

- Justice for David Jones!

- Listen.
- Does he have a record?

This is why we can't
have a conversation.

- [bleep] you. [bleep] you.
- You're not my type.

- Why you guys trying
to come up here today?

- We want the cold killer cop

who murdered
our dear brother David Jones

to come out and surrender,

so he can be charged
with murder.

- When you go to work each day,

you shouldn't have to worry

that a pack of rabid animals

will suddenly show up
at your home

and openly threaten your family,

as we saw last week.

- If we don't get no justice,
we shuttin' it down.

What about David Jones, 2018?

We haven't heard nothing yet.

- We want a statement
from Larry Krasner.

- He's the District Attorney
now.

- He's the District Attorney.
He could make a statement.

- Any evidence that
in past shootings,

crimes have been
committed by police?

- I would be one lousy D.A.
if I were to sit here and say,

without having reviewed
the evidence

on these particular cases,
what I think.

We have to look at the evidence
and follow the evidence fairly.

- We want justice

or we're shutting
everything down.

- Larry Krasner,
the inauguration was good.

Everything was pretty.
It did look nice.

But it's time to go
the [bleep] to work.

[car horn blaring]

- Say his name!
All: David Jones!

- Say his name!
All: David Jones!

- Say his name!
All: David Jones!

- Say his name!
All: David Jones!

[tense music]

♪

- The big story
on "Action News"...

- Philadelphia Police shoot
and kill a man

who appeared to be
running away from an officer.

- Officer Ryan Pownall
observed David Jones

in the Juniata section

of Philadelphia
on his dirt bike.

- Witness accounts of it
being driven recklessly led

a Philadelphia police officer
to confront him.

- Pownall was transporting
three people

to the Special Victims Unit,

but for some reason decided,

against police protocol,

to then stop Jones

in a parking lot and frisk him.

- That confrontation led to
a weapon being found on Jones.

- Then when a struggle ensued,

Pownall tried to fire his gun,

which jammed as Jones
started to run away.

- When he was running away
from that officer,

he was empty-handed.

- Pownall then fired
three times,

striking Jones in the back
and killing him.

- Jones' gun was later
found 25 feet

in the opposite direction

from where the officer
was firing at him.

[somber music]

♪

- [whistling tune]

[distant sirens wailing]

[door creaking]

- What's the weather
in Texas today, do you know?

- So, Dallas, 67.

Austin, 68.

And those are the only two
Texas cities I keep on my...

- Pretty good.
- Phone.

- All right, so what are
we discussing today?

- We just did a review
of all the cases yesterday.

We've got 45 cases,
all of which are, you know,

somehow related to murder,
mayhem, and public corruption.

For cops, there's a bunch
of slower burn kind of things

that might be
of interest to you.

Is that fair?

- Mm-hmm.

- Um...

[tapping on table]

Can you go off?

[suspenseful ambient music]

♪

- I was good at my job
as a public defender.

But there comes a time
when, given the opportunity,

about bitching about how
badly broken the system is,

that you have to be willing
to suck it up

and to actually try
and change it,

or you don't get
to bitch anymore.

Abuse of power is a thing
that, like,

makes me more angry
than everything else.

And I said, "Look, Larry,
I'm 41 years old.

"I've been around.

"I don't want
to prosecute car thieves.

I want to be
in Special Investigations."

We do all kinds of political
and municipal corruption

which I remind people of.

♪

Everybody just says,
"You prosecute cops."

[tense music]

♪

[turn signal ticking]

- This is, like, all the area,

like, DJ grew up.

This is his neighborhood.

When he died, it changed
a lot of people's lives.

He was the one
that everyone would call.

My son, of course.

Just the whole neighborhood.

[serene synthesizer music]

♪

He was my soul mate.

He was just so easy to talk to.

He was, like, the most
non-judgmental person

I've ever met.

My son graduated eighth grade.

♪

DJ, he drove trucks.

He came home for the graduation.

The graduation was actually
the day before he passed away,

the day before he was killed.

That was the last picture
he posted on his Instagram.

He said, "When you realize
the young pup

"is turning into a young man.

"Congratulations.
My guy going to high school.

Getting old.
Love this kid."

♪

- Just having someone
stripped away from you

the day after your graduation,

that pain that
you still walk with,

that... it even becomes a trigger
to you to hear that name.

It puts you in that place again.

People don't understand that.

Even though he wasn't
my biological dad,

he was my father.

♪

- This is that bike that I hate.

This is him selling the bike.

"For serious people only.
Bike for sale."

If he had a gun on him,

it's because
the likelihood of him

getting robbed for the money
and the bike is high.

It never even crossed his mind,
probably,

that in the five minutes
it would have took him to ride

that dirt bike to the park
and make that transaction,

that he would encounter
a police officer,

and that this situation
would occur.

♪

It all could have been avoided.

DJ would still be here.

That bike would be sold.

DJ would still be
a truck driver.

My family would still be whole.

But that's not how it happened.

[lively theme music]

♪

- The big story
on "Action News" tonight

is the police-involved shooting

of a man on a small motorcycle,

forcing the police commissioner

to confront a very difficult
situation head on.

- There were serious
policy violations

that were committed on video.

In order to fire
at a fleeing suspect,

there must be
an imminent threat of death

or serious physical injury

to the officer
or another person.

Because Jones never looked back
at Pownall in the video,

and his hands were empty,

he posed no imminent

or immediate threat to Pownall.

- The police commissioner just
finished a press conference.

The Philadelphia police officer

is being fired from his job.

- Demonstrators have
actually gathered outside

of this police building.

They say that's not enough.

They actually want this officer

to be charged with murder.

- I feel as though
they completed half their job.

You know, I want
this cop arrested.

That's it.

- The cops, they get fired.

[tense music]

The FOP pays
for these high-priced lawyers,

they fund them,
go to the arbitration,

they're right back in.

- The police commissioner
and the mayor

don't have the last say

on the cops
that patrol the street.

This guy may go
through arbitration

if the D.A.'s Office
don't convict.

♪

[car horn honks]

- A union can be a great thing.

But when I saw,
at certain points,

it almost seemed to undermine
the justice system.

I was working for the
Philadelphia Police Department

for eight years.

And I've had the unique ability

to have seen
so many personnel files,

to have seen so much
discipline meted out.

♪

It was clear that some
of these arbitrators

had no idea, nor did they care,

about what was the practices

that police officers violated.

And then they would
put them back to work.

♪

I know that there
are police officers

who shouldn't be on the force.

- No justice!
All: No peace!

- No justice!
All: No peace!

- No justice!
All: No peace!

- No justice!
All: No peace!

- We are asking Larry Krasner

and his office to move swiftly.

You ran on progressive change.

We're holding you to it.

- Ryan Pownall still
has not been charged

for the murder of David Jones.

Either you think
it was a just shooting

or it was an unjust shooting,
Larry Krasner.

So your office has
to make the decision.

[sirens wailing]

[tense music]

♪

[indistinct chatter]

- All right.

Excuse me for a moment.

- In the past,
the D.A.'s Office

typically sided with the police.

And the last time
a police officer

was charged with homicide

was 1999.

Two judges threw
the charges out of court

before it could get to trial.

[door creaks]

- It's very difficult to get
convictions in these cases.

Judges react negatively to them.

Juries tend to believe
what the police say.

A lot of institutional reasons,

structural reasons
why it doesn't happen.

[no audible dialogue]

In Pennsylvania,
it's even more difficult

because our Crimes Code
has provided police

with the authority
to use deadly force

that is greater

than what's permitted
by the U.S. Constitution.

♪

- These are
very dangerous streets,

and the police
do have to use force.

But there's a lot
of police officers who,

in my opinion,

got away with murder
and manslaughter.

[keyboard clacking]

- [exhales deeply]

[abrasive percussion music]

Thank you.

- No, thank you.
Um...

Talking points.

[elevator chimes]

♪

- We have a judge?

[indistinct chatter]

[indistinct chatter]

[tense music]

♪

- Yep.
- All right.

- [exhales deeply]

- All right.
So, straight to the podium.

- Let you guys know,
they snapping pictures

as soon as you open that door.

- Okay.

♪

[camera shutters clicking]

- Good morning, and thank you
all for being here.

It is the duty of
the District Attorney's Office

to represent the Commonwealth.

That means every person
in the Commonwealth.

The Commonwealth includes
the family of David Jones.

It also includes
Officer Pownall.

We are applying justice
evenhandedly today

and will do so moving forward.

The investigating grand jury
found

that, by firing his gun
in the direction of traffic,

Pownall recklessly endangered

other people in his vicinity,

that at the time

of Jones' flight,

Jones was not a danger
to anyone,

and that Jones' death
was not necessary

to secure
the apprehension of Jones.

The District Attorney's Office,
in fact, has filed

a complaint this morning,

and that complaint brings
the following charges:

First, criminal homicide;

second, possession
of an instrument of crime;

and third, recklessly
endangering another person.

Officer Pownall has turned
himself in this morning.

- Is this an absolute
clear-cut case?

Was there possibly some reason
for him to fire on this man?

- The best answer
that I can give you

is that I and my team

are very confident

that we are making

the right charging decision.

Thank you.

[camera shutters clicking]

- Right now, a former
Philadelphia police officer

is sitting in jail.

He's being charged with murder.

- The question had been
whether or not the D.A.

was going to pursue charges.

Was it the right call
for Larry Krasner?

- He wouldn't bring this case
if he didn't think

he could get the conviction.

And that's why we have a trial.

♪

- This is what was feared

when this guy was elected.

We'll see
what evidence surfaces.

But I am convinced,

with the mob in Philadelphia,

you have a much easier time
if you're a criminal

than if you're a cop
and you're gonna be on trial.

- It's absurd.

A 12-year veteran

who protected the community
for years

is gonna be held without bail.

Officer Pownall was out there,

encountered a felon
with a stolen gun

terrorizing the community
on a four-wheeler.

We will have a vigorous defense

and expect him to be cleared

of all charges

and get his job back.

So with that, I'd like
to bring up Ryan's brother.

- I want to thank everybody
for all their support,

especially the FOP

and all of his fellow officers.

And we look forward
to bringing Ryan home.

Thank you.

- I don't believe any officer
leaves to go to work

every day to take a life.

But we know how it's gonna be
for the coming years.

When you do,
we're gonna be second-guessed.

So just be careful out there,
be safe,

and we're here for you.

Thank you.

[applause]

[dramatic music]

♪

- When I first heard
about the case,

one of the things
that really struck me was:

why is he out there
on the motorcycle,

and why does he have a gun?

You need to argue this,
and we need to prove it.

As I saw it, he's not out there
being a hellion.

He's trying to sell
a crappy motorcycle

that's not tuned right

or maybe has some kind
of an engine problem.

So when he's zipping up
and down in the vicinity

of a gas station,
he is doing this

because he's trying to get
the thing running right

so that he can sell it
in an eBay exchange.

He has the gun because
so many people get killed

making vehicular eBay exchanges.

And that has happened
in Philadelphia.

It has happened repeatedly.

- Easy robbery target.
- Right.

- We all know
that's why he did it.

Everybody that knows him
knows that.

- We should prove that.

We should prove that.

We should find a way

so the jury doesn't think
what they want.

What they want is that this

is some criminal hellion

running around
with a gun in his waistband,

who was just causing trouble.

He's not a human being.

I think it is legitimate

to at least take a shot at this

and to spend some time
thinking about these theories.

Let me tell you something.

You don't get that in, you lose.

Okay?
Just so we're clear.

If you don't humanize this guy
and humanize him

from the beginning,

we're just wasting our time.

[child squeals]

[dramatic orchestral music]

♪

[indistinct chatter]

- I parked over here.

- The judge ruled it's not
a first-degree murder case.

It's a third-degree murder case.

And he's getting bail.

[camera shutter clicking]

- Who else?

- Everybody... everybody good?
Everybody here?

- The court ruled
that the presentment

does not support the charge
of first-degree murder.

Um, we're obviously
extremely satisfied

with the court's decision
in that regard.

We will now prepare this case.

A jury will find
that Ryan Pownall

was justified in his actions

on the day of this incident,

and he'll be found not guilty.

Thank you.
That's all I have.

- Wait... how soon do you think
you'll have him out?

- Cousin.
[phones ringing]

[indistinct radio chatter]

- The defense
is trying to make it

between Larry Krasner
and the FOP,

which this is not.

Every time we come
to this courtroom,

I got to fight with the cops
in the room

to make room for the family.

The T-shirts that
the police had on

said "Pownall
we have your back,"

which was blatantly
disrespectful to the family.

He shot the boy in the back.

- You want to give a statement?

- Yeah. I'll give a statement.
- All right.

- So...
- Your name, ma'am?

- I'm forgetting my name.

Donna Clement-Jackson.

- And who are you
to David Jones?

- I'm David Jones' godmother.

- Yeah, okay.
Go ahead, ma'am.

- You know, today, the judge...
Excuse me.

Today, the judge gave Pownall

a temporary pass.

He allowed him to go home

to his families and friends.

You know, but we know
God's delay is not a denial,

and we still stand in our faith,

and we stand fast
that justice will be done.

- Gonna talk to the mom
right now, okay?

Please state your name, ma'am.

- My name is Doretha Crosby.

I have no comment.

Just taking everything
in right now.

- How do you process
that he dropped it

from first-degree
to third-degree?

- No comment.

- She has no comment on that.
- She has no comment on that.

- That's a situation
that the judge made,

and for us, we don't care
what the charges are

as long as there's a charge

because no charge
is gonna bring David back.

But as long as we are taking it
to trial, that's all we need.

That's all we have left to say.

- Before you go, Miss Crosby,
just what's in your heart?

Just tell us.
This is your chance.

What's in your heart?
- She doesn't want to talk.

- She doesn't want to talk
to you, sir. That's it.

- She lost her son.
- This is devastating.

- No matter what happens
between now and then,

he will be found guilty.

Thank you.
- Thank you.

[camera shutters clicking]

[indistinct chatter]

[serene music]

♪

- Piece of me still
fighting myself with it,

like, trying
to believe it and...

And, I don't know,
just dealing with it.

It's a lot.

If I'm feeling bad
about something,

David always tried
to cheer my up.

He always know what to say.

He would call me
just to stay up.

"Mom, I'm driving.

I need to stay up.
Talk to me."

He'd call me 2:00,
3:00 in the morning,

just to keep him up
while he was driving.

[melodic rap music playing]

♪

- David drove trucks
for a living.

He just enjoyed going
from state to state.

He wanted young, Black boys

to experience that same thing.

He's like, "I'm going
to get me a fleet of trucks."

He was like, "These young boys
don't know they can do

what I'm doing
and have a better life."

So that was the type
of person he was.

- Mm-hmm.

- That was the type
of person he was.

[car horns blaring]

- Hello.
- Yes.

- Hello!

How you doing?

- I'm good.
How are you?

- Yeah.
You and me both.

It's always something going on.

- Yeah.
Ain't it?

- Hey.
How are you?

[indistinct chatter]

- It's cold out there.
- We'll go upstairs.

- Before things kick more
into gear,

I wanted to explain
the law a little bit

'cause I know I keep
talking about it.

What do you need
to know from me?

What's confusing?
What's not?

- So, the charges

that they reduced...

- So, we're at third-degree,

um...

voluntary manslaughter,

involuntary manslaughter,

and the misdemeanor
is the possession

of an instrument of crime,
which is the...

- Mm-hmm.
The gun.

- The gun.
- Mm-hmm.

- And recklessly endangering
another person.

- So, they... when they rule,

they rule on each one
of those separately?

- Mm-hmm.
- Like, he could get not guilty

for third-degree murder,

but found guilty
of manslaughter.

- Right.

This is why that's important.

It's because
the self-defense statute...

[sighs]

What it says is that

a peace office... any
law enforcement officer...

Is justified
in using deadly force

only when he believes

that such force is necessary

to prevent death
or serious bodily injury

to himself or another person,

or...

when he believes both

these next two things...

He has to believe
both of these things:

such force is necessary
to prevent the arrest

from being defeated

by resistance or escape, right?

So, David's running away...

and that the person
to be arrested

has either committed
a forcible felony...

Doesn't apply...
- Mm-hmm.

- Attempting to escape
and possesses a deadly weapon,

which would be the gun, right?

That's the one
they're gonna say applies...

or otherwise indicates
that he'll endanger human life

or inflict serious bodily injury

unless arrested without delay.

So he's gonna say
that Pownall believed

that his use of deadly force

was absolutely necessary

because Mr. Jones...

You know,
David was gonna get away.

He was gonna defeat the arrest,

and that he had that gun.

Right?

And the argument is gonna be,

how the hell did you think
he had that gun

when it was 25 feet
in the other direction?

- Right.
And he couldn't be a danger

to nobody else with nothing.

And then he put his hands up,

and there was nothing for you
to have to shoot him again.

There's a piece
in there that you...

that you kind of said,
and I'm like,

"Y'all, that gives them
too much freedom."

- Right.

Because it basically says
that you're allowed

to shoot people in the back
when they're running away.

If you think they've got a gun,

you can shoot them in the back.

I think that's a little crazy.

- Mm-hmm.

And we'll talk.
As we move forward,

I'll just prepare you for some
other stuff that may happen

if they do try to assassinate
David's character

and stuff like that

from my experience
of my own trial.

- Okay.
- Okay.

I don't want to say
I'm satisfied now.

I am... content

with where we are right now,

and I think it's gonna lead
to a guilty verdict.

That's my prayer, anyway.

- They get away with everything.

I just don't want them to get
away with it now.

That's all.
- Yeah.

- So.

[somber music]

- I do think
that David Jones' family

would agree with me on this.

You never actually win
a murder trial.

You can't.
It's impossible.

A human being is dead.

The best you can do
is provide closure

or some modicum of justice,

just in the process.

- All right.
- All right.

- Thank you, Trace.

- Ope, you're welcome.

♪

- All right.
Well, let me say this.

First of all,
I'm delighted to see you.

I'm actually really excited

and supportive of certain things

your organization's doing,

including standing up

when officers are told

by other officers to tell lies.

- The Guardian Civic League

is a civic organization
of active

and retired law enforcement
professionals.

It was formed in 1956.

And it was formed
in the support of Black cops

who felt that they were
being mistreated.

In the police department,

they got you
as the killer cop person.

That's how they painting him.

"Oh, he's gonna come
after the cops."

I said, "Well, his job
is to lock people up.

"If you are out there doing
something crazy, guess what?

You get locked up too."

And this... this brings us
to what I need you to do.

We invited you
to the Guardian Civic League.

To me, you would be able
to put to rest

the rumor mill,

which I believe is always
100% wrong,

especially
in the police department,

that you're not
coming after them

in a malicious way,

that you basically
can support them

if they doing the right thing.

It needs to get over to them,

"I'm not out to get y'all.

"But trust me...
If you're out there doing it,

"it is my job to prosecute you,

"just like every other citizen

that commits a crime
out here in the city."

- It is what it is.

I don't expect everybody
to agree with me.

That's not the point.

But it would be nice
if they told the truth,

or they were accurate,
and they didn't just

deliberately undermine
the office.

That would be helpful.
Interesting.

- That's gonna be
real interesting.

[bright orchestral music]

♪

[indistinct chatter]

- So, first and foremost,

the policy of the Philadelphia
Police Department

is that all of our officers
hold the highest regard

for the sanctity
of human life, dignity,

and liberty of all persons.

Every time that we interact
with the community,

whether it's somebody
that's calling for a complaint,

or if we're engaging a suspect
that's suspected of a crime,

we have to hold ourselves
to that standard.

And then by using tactics
and communication,

hopefully we're able
to de-escalate situations

and minimize or mitigate
against the need

to use lethal force.

Any questions?

[person coughs]

- Excellent.

[indistinct chatter]

[dramatic synthesizer music]

♪

- Step up.
Grab a weapon.

Point it at the wall.

Load, charge, then holster.

Okay.
Grab the spare magazine.

- The police department
has tried to address

their officers shooting people.

As a result,
they shoot less people.

- What we're looking for
is making sure

that you guys are communicating

with one another
via police radio.

- Nevertheless, a bad cop

can do a lot of damage.

And the question is,

what is the police department
doing about that?

- Knock on the door,
scenario begins.

[whistle blares]

- Chris, you got to go!
- No, I'm not going anywhere!

Where do you want me to go?
I just got out!

- He just got out of jail.
I let him stay here

for a couple days,
and it's just not working out.

[all speaking at once]
- Where am I supposed to go?

Where am I supposed to go?

- Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! Whoa!

- Taser! Taser! Taser!

- One. Two. Three. Four.

- "It's just a matter
of training.

"We'll put more money
into training.

We'll put more money
into training."

No, what you need to do
is put some money

into disciplining
the police officers

and discharging them.

And what you also need to do
is put some money in

to make sure that you change

the police contract
and state law

that enables the police to have
this arbitration process.

- Tired of this, man!

Where am I supposed to go?

Where am I supposed to go?
What?

- Put your hands up!
Put your hands up!

Keep them up.
Keep them up.

Take one step forward.

- You're the one that asked me
to come and stay here.

Now you want me to leave.

- You need to go.
- Hands out, palms up.

Don't move.

Don't move.

[whistle blares]

- All right.
Good job.

Way to call it out.
Establishing roles.

Just let radio know
what you have,

and then you get
the numbers on your side.

- If you're the person
whose son or daughter,

or yourself,
was on the bad side,

the receiving side of any kind
of unjustified force,

you don't care
that the numbers went down.

Those numbers
don't mean anything.

You gotta... you want it
right all the time.

Are we ever gonna be perfect?
No.

But our goal should always
be remembering that person.

- Larry Krasner...
We invited him to come

and have a one-on-one
with you all.

As before, rumors in the city

about a person
you have not talked to

about they policy is just wrong.

So he's here to answer
your questions today.

Like I said,
get it from the person,

so you'll know the facts,

and not live by rumors
on this job.

- What I would like you to do,
if you're willing,

is ask me the hard questions.

You know, I have great respect

for honest, hard-working,
decent police officers,

and that, in my mind,

is the overwhelming majority.

And I got no respect

for lying, cheating,
and stealing lawyers,

doctors, and cops.

That's... that's the reality.

And I'm not... I'm not
gonna play around.

I consider everybody
to be accountable

including the guy
who used to sit in my office,

who's now sitting in Oklahoma

in a prison cell.

So that's where I'm coming from.

- Appreciate you taking
these questions

forthrightly and answering them.

Doesn't seem like
you're BS-ing to me.

With that being said... and
mine's kind of a little loaded

'cause I've been waiting
to talk to you...

- Yeah.
- I understand you ran

on this mass incarceration
premise.

You're gonna do whatever
you can to stop young brothers

from getting convicted
at disproportionate rate

than their white counterparts.

With that being said,

the sentencing
that's been going on,

the deals that's been made
since you took office...

Can you tell me
what the thinking is,

what your office has,
with regards to sentencing?

- Oh, on the issue
involving homicides,

I stand by every decision.

When we make a mistake,
we're gonna own it.

We're gonna try to change it.

But once again,
there's a politics around this,

and there's people who want
to say that we're crazy

and we're giving away the store.

That may not be the truth,

but it serves their political
purpose to say it,

so they're putting it out there.

- How many more questions?

All right.
Let's go.

- I got 20-plus years
on the job.

I've been around.

People in here who know me

know the type of cop that I am.

I put in work.

So my problem, as a supervisor,

is my guys don't trust you

as far as they can throw you,

so therefore the production
goes down.

The people who suffer

are the citizens.

I see you go after Pownall.

I know Pownall.

The cops on the streets
see you coming after them,

so they don't want to work,

'cause they don't want
to put themselves out there.

So...

what am I to tell them?

- What do I suggest?
I suggest you don't

shoot unarmed people
in the back.

That's what I suggest.

You know, I'm gonna guess
you never did that.

- No.
My shooting's clean.

- The reality is,
people make mistakes.

There are accidental shootings.

But it wasn't,

"Let me stand here and aim

and then carefully re-aim..."

- Mm.

- "At an unarmed person

who is running away."

Yeah.
So, you know,

there are specific facts
in all these situations.

I mean, if police officers feel

that they shouldn't have
to do their job,

then they shouldn't
have that job.

If they feel that
it should be okay to shoot

unarmed people in the back,
then they're wrong.

At the time that he was charged,

we had, I think,

19 shootings by police
under consideration.

18 of them resulted
in no charges.

His resulted in charges.

And you would have thought,
from listening to the FOP,

that it was the end
of the world.

I think we're elevating
all of you

by saying there is a standard
of professionalism.

There is a line.

There are honest mistakes,
but there are also crimes.

And we... you know,
we, as a society,

we, in Philadelphia,
we, in the D.A.'s Office

are not gonna say it's all okay,

because it's not all okay.

[keyboard clacking]

- So I have all of this press

about Pownall.

"Philadelphia Weekly"
and "City & State PA"

published a joint investigation

reporting that Pownall
had been the subject

of 15 civilian complaints

between January '13
and March 2018,

the third-highest total

of any officer on the force.

The third-highest

of 6,600-plus

sworn officers.

If one of your top three

isn't on your early
warning list, like,

I don't know what to tell you.

He was out on patrol.

[tense music]

♪

The fact of the matter is,

the on-the-daily police
misconduct in communities

just gets a pass,
and nobody's addressed it.

If the police department
had doubled down

on some of the misconduct,
maybe we wouldn't be here.

But we are.

Like, when you go back
and look at the scene photos

and the video,
you can place the dirt bike

and the patrol car in your head

because they're over
in this area.

- Right.

I'm also thinking that
this is a really long way

to drive against traffic
in the turning/parking lane.

♪

- And of course...

[sighs]

That was the camera
that did not work.

And that was the other camera
that did not work.

[sighs]

Either one of these cameras
would have given us

the entirety of the story.

So.

[sighs]
[bleep].

[indistinct chatter]

[door creaks]

[door creaks]

Okay.

Did you guys have any questions?

Or should we just get
this video shown?

- Can we just get it moving?
- All right.

You're gonna see David come in

on his bike up here.
- Mm-hmm.

- And then you'll see
the police car come this way.

And then it'll be off-screen.

And then you'll see the firing

and everything up in that area.

Okay?

And David will be running
what looks to be towards us.

[mouse clicks]

[distant phone rings]

- [sighs]

[phone rings]
- [cries softly]

[whispering] Turn it off.

- Turn it off.

[cell phone ringing]
- [whispering] Turn it off.

- Turn it off.

- Do you guys want me
to keep playing it?

- Go ahead.
- Go ahead. Mm-hmm.

- Why is he bending his knee
on him on all like that?

That's crazy.

- Yeah.
What... what was...?

- They put...
What are they doing?

- Yeah, what...?

- Look like they's trying
to handcuff him or something.

[all speaking at once]

- Why they not...
But why they not

putting him in the car?

- He's bending his arm all up.

Which one...
Which one is Pownall?

Did he help put him in the car?

- He did.

- This is unbelievable.

- How is he justified
to shoot him?

- That's the question.

- We're gonna argue
that you can see

his hands when he's running.
- Mm-hmm.

- He doesn't have anything
in his hands.

Pownall tries to shoot him
in the back, like,

directly in front of him...

tries to shoot him.

He doesn't because his gun jams.

Right?

And so he then takes
a step back and racks it

to clear the jam.

And that is when you see

David run away.

Pownall clears the jam,
and then as David is running,

he fires the additional
three shots,

at least, two of which hit him.

- Fine line.

- So that's what
this is all about?

This cop...

- I don't mean
to say it like that.

- Saw him crossing him
in front of him?

- No,
I just think that he's racist,

being as though he shot somebody

in 2010 in the back.

It gotta be.

How many times
can he shoot somebody

and keep getting put back
on the force

and put back on...
On the streets?

- On the street again.

- It doesn't make any sense.

I don't understand it.

[somber music]

♪

[birds chirping]

- I was approached

by a police officer
and his partner

because they believed that
I had narcotics in my hand,

which I showed them
was a piece of paper.

But from my previous...
Going back to my background

and my neighborhood
and when I grew up

and how the police treated us,

I chose to run.

- By the time
he started running,

he was in full flight, correct?

- Yes.

- Had you heard any shots fired?

- I thought I heard one.

- Do you know who fired it?

You knew it wasn't
Carnell Williams, correct?

- I don't know who fired it.

- Well, did you ever lose
sight of Carnell Williams?

- No.

- Did you ever see the gun out
during this whole time?

- The only time I saw it
was when we first stopped him.

- Okay, you never saw
it again, correct?

- No.

- And in fact,
when you arrested him,

he didn't have a gun
on him, correct?

- When I placed him in custody,
I searched him,

and no, he didn't have any...
A gun on him.

- Okay.
All right.

[light, ambient music]

♪

- I just was a person that
wasn't trying to get caught

with the firearm.

And I threw the firearm.

And a cop that was behind me,

he started opening fire on me.

One went past my ear,

and the other one hit me
in my back.

July 17th was the last day

I took my steps.

After I was shot,

Ryan Pownall was back
on the force

like nothing happened.

He was back in the streets.

Back at active duty.

♪

I look at the news
seven years later,

he killed somebody.

[dramatic synthesizer music]

♪

- The last 20 years
of my career,

I spent investigating

just police-involved shootings,

so I knew Officer Pownall
from this prior shooting

that I had investigated in 2010.

Because of the vast amount
of shootings that I've done,

I've handled shootings
where officers have had

multiple police discharges...
And by multiple,

whether two, or some officers
have had five, six.

In this David Jones case,

I was the first supervisor
on location

and spoke with Officer Pownall.

Officer Pownall walked me
through the incident.

It was a stressful event.

When I was speaking
to him at the scene,

certainly he wasn't ecstatic

that he had just had
to employ deadly force.

When we first hear about
a person shot in the back,

the initial reaction is
this must be a bad shooting

because an individual is
running away from the officer

and therefore poses no threat.

[siren wailing]

In viewing
Officer Pownall's actions,

if you weighed them against

Section 508 of the Crimes Code,

which governs
an officer's use of force,

it appeared to me that
he abided by those guidelines.

And I'm not an attorney,

but what he's been charged with
to me

doesn't fit the crime,
if you will.

So for that reason, yes,

he should be allowed to return

to his prior position
in the police department.

[car horn blares]

♪

- Think about
the U.S. Supreme Court

considering the following:

can a state legislature

write a statute

that makes it okay
for police to do things

that the U.S. Supreme Court
has said are unconstitutional?

- Yeah.
- Can they do that?

- I think we should think about

arguing 508 as unconstitutional.

- Yeah, but I agree.
That is not okay.

We have to file
a [bleep] motion to eliminate...

it's not that complicated...
And let her rule.

That's what we have to do.

♪

- It's a question
of interpretation.

If you interpret the statute

in the broadest way possible,

it is unconstitutional

because you can't
just shoot a person

who's fleeing a traffic stop

simply because they have
a deadly weapon.

Right, right,
right, right, right.

It's too vague.
It's too broad.

You know, there has
to be an imminent danger

to justify it.

- Whenever you have
a case like this,

you have to recognize that
you're up against institutions

that don't want to hold
police officers accountable.

- Part of what is so maddening
and at issue in this case

is that law enforcement
officers get charged

so infrequently,

there just aren't cases.

They don't happen.
Right?

Like, there's no body
of law with...

To tell us how
to look at that statute.

It just doesn't exist
in a criminal context.

That law that
we are dealing with,

I think got written in 1972.

I mean, you've got
a model penal code

and a Crimes Code in Philly,

a lot of which is significantly
pre-civil rights.

♪

[sighs]

- It's all getting interesting.

- So I'm gonna go forth
and file.

Everything's been prepped.

And we just got to see
what the court says about it.

- So listen, anything you need,
just let me know, right?

- Yes.
- All right.

- Mm-hmm.

♪

[indistinct chatter]

He calls me unethical.

That's nice.

[whispering] Oh, [bleep] you.

Yo.
So they filed their answer.

That's just him, like,

yelling about how dare we,

and this is all
because we've, you know,

you know, unethically ignored

mandates of 508, blah blah blah.

So. I don't know.

Let me know what you think.

Okay.
Bye.

[suspenseful music]

♪

- Clearly, the existing law
justifies his conduct.

The District Attorney's Office

decided to ignore
the existing law.

- You can't rewrite
the law to say,

"Well, the officer isn't allowed

"to use deadly force
under these circumstances,

and therefore,
he should be prosecuted."

I mean, that is just
fundamental black letter law.

- The District Attorney's
approach in this case

is somewhat unusual,
but it's right.

It's completely unfair
to give the officer

an unconstitutional advantage
at trial.

That's what could happen
in this case.

♪

- I want to win this case.

And it is important

because there is a way

in which a jury verdict

validates the prosecution.

"12 citizens
of Philadelphia agree,

"beyond a reasonable doubt,
this is a murder,

and we're not having it."

- So as we wait, for now,
the trial's on hold.

If they do not rule
in our favor,

we are going to go ahead
and proceed to trial,

and we will do
the best that we can

in an unfair contest.

But this family will know
that we tried.

And Philadelphians
will know that we tried.

[soft, emotional music]

♪

- I'm prayerful that

the Supreme Court
will rule in our favor.

Out of our tragedy may come

some real change

to a system...

a system that just hasn't
been right for a long time.

- I hate to say it.

My faith in the court system

is, like, the size
of a mustard seed,

because they've been
doing Black people wrong

for centuries.

This one little case
is not gonna change that.

- From not having a father
to having a father,

that relationship
really built me into the man

I'm supposed to be.

There's a lot of days,

and there's still
a lot of nights

I just think about it,

or I'll have a dream
that he's still alive.

♪

- Is our name still here?

- I don't know what part
of the tree you put it on.

- This is exactly where we had
our first little picnic.

That was last year.

Yeah, I guess
our little carving is gone.

Nothing lasts forever,
that's for sure.

At the end of the day,
we don't get DJ back.

So I have to raise
my young, Black son,

and I have to deal
with his emotions.

And we still have to live
in this world.

- Even when justice
will be served,

that person is still gone.

I honestly want my generation
to be that generation

to really hold people
accountable.

Hold our police accountable.

- We miss you so much, DJ.

I will celebrate your birthday

every year that I'm alive.

I always feel your presence.

And until we meet again,

Happy Birthday, DJ!
- Happy birthday.

♪♪

announcer: Next time,
on "Philly D.A."...

- People come together to say,
"No more."

- The protests show we're not
moving forward fast enough.

- My family's been destroyed
by these systems,

and I don't feel good
about this.

- Some people think
you're not far left enough.

Others who think
you're not far right enough.

[siren wailing]

- The police lock everybody up,

and Krasner lets them out.

- That's the system that
we're working in right now.

- They hate your policies.

Address our concerns.

[dramatic music]

announcer: "Philly D.A."
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♪♪