All language subtitles for Philly.D.A.S01E06.1080p.WEBRip.x264-BAE_Track03

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

- A lot of your office
is public perception,

and when people are upset,

they don't pause
for the metrics.

- There are people

who don't want to see him
change anything.

- What do you think
he's trying to accomplish?

- Anarchy.

- Violence has surged
in the city

with shooting after shooting.

- This problem is beyond
just the D.A.

- But if they're not
on the street,

they can't shoot anybody.

- Now you got a good cop
who becomes disgruntled,

it's the community
who's gonna suffer.

- Just becomes a lawless city.

[The Stylistics' "Is There
Something On Your Mind"]

♪

[waves crashing]

[airplane engine droning]

[seagulls calling]

[indistinct chatter]

♪

- ♪ Is there something
on your mind ♪

♪ That you want to say
to me? ♪

♪ Are you trying to say
goodbye? ♪

♪ You don't have to hide

♪ Don't keep me locked up
inside ♪

[airplane engine droning]

♪

♪ Is there something
on your mind? ♪

♪

[horns honking]

[tense music]

♪

- We need to make it clear
at the beginning

that this is an investigation

that was begun
under this administration.

This is not some holdover thing.

- Do you think the story is that

if we're gonna do something

in traditional
law enforcement terms,

let's actually get
an organization.

Let's stop locking up,
like, addicts.

- That's the traditional
chop off, you know,

one suction cup on the tentacle

and then it grows back
in a minute type-stuff

as opposed to going
for the whole octopus.

[softly] Octopus.
[taps pen]

- Did you know that octopuses
are actually predators

and they eat meat?
- Yeah.

- They have a break
that they break.

- Yeah.
- [imitates chomping]

- Which is the only hard piece
of their bodies.

That's why they're so sneaky,
fluid.

- Very sneaky, very cool.
- Mm-hmm.

- This is the first press
conference that we've done

about, like, a big, proactive
criminal investigation.

And if you're a traditional
district attorney,

this is like
your bread and butter.

They send the message
that the D.A.s want to send,

which is that
we are going tough on heroin,

we are going tough
on drug dealers, get 'em all.

Lock 'em up.
[pounds table]

And it's like,

you arrest a couple of people
who work at the corner.

This press conference that
we're doing today ain't that.

We arrested the very top tier
of the organization

from the guys in charge
all the way down.

[elevator bell dings]

- What about this? If they say,
"You just love criminals..."

- Correct.

- I could say,
"You're right, I'm crimey."

- [chuckling]
- Just, "You're right."

- Hello.
- I can squeeze in.

- Come in.

- This was all a big accident.

I don't know how it happened.
- Yeah I just... I'm confused.

I thought we were giving
these guys the key to the city.

[chuckles]

Don't actually say any of that.

♪♪

The issue is that there are
people who are just critical

of everything that we do
on principle.

It doesn't matter what it is
or what we say

or how we do it,
they just attack it

and they're gonna find
something to attack about this.

They want to believe

this, like, cartoon character
of Larry.

Particularly the hardcore
FOP people.

One thing that upsets them
more than anything

is when we point out
that we are, in fact,

still prosecuting
serious charges.

♪

- Good morning.

Today, the Philadelphia
District Attorney's Office

is announcing the results
of a prolonged investigation

into major narcotics traffickers

in the Kensington section
of the city.

Traditional drug enforcement
should not focus

on people at the bottom
of the pyramid

whose actions are basically
driven by addiction.

[camera shutter clicks]

We should not be focusing
on the tip of one tentacle;

we should be going
for the entire octopus.

These are drug dealers who sold
$5 million worth of revenues

over the course of a year.

We need to think broadly

about solutions that will get
at the terrible impact

that this type of addiction
are causing.

And with that,
I would like to invite

Councilwoman
Maria Quinones-Sanchez.

- Good afternoon.

For the residents of Kensington
that I represent,

I can tell you
on their behalf, thank you.

This is a great first step
in demonstrating to folks

that, on behalf of the D.A.'s
office and law enforcement,

we're up to the task.

Thank you.

[camera shutters clicking]

[speaking Spanish]
Larry.

Larry and I, we have known
each other for 30 years.

Hey, buddy.
[both speaking Spanish]

So you've met our new D.A.?

- How are you?
- Good. Great, great.

- I really believe
that when people spend

one-on-one time with Larry,

they get a different
understanding of who he is.

Larry cares,
but he doesn't come off

as the teddy bear
kind of person.

♪

The narrative around him
being for criminals,

versus victims, is still huge.

- We bring the cases.
That's just the reality.

We don't bring weed possession.
- Okay, good.

- We don't bring sex work.

But when it comes to anything
serious, we bring it.

Even when it comes
to non-serious stuff.

We bring all
the retail theft cases.

"Oh, Krasner's
not busting nobody.

We bring 'em in."

Really?
No, you don't.

- They always say it was you,

'cause you're not gonna do
nothing with it.

- I mean, they're saying
what they want to say.

- I know.
- But...

- They're winning
that war, though.

- Well...

- They're winning
the perception war; facts.

- Well, they're about
to lose it when I walk in

with the facts
and bang 'em over the head.

- For those people
who care about facts.

Electing people is one thing.

Helping them become successful
is another thing.

His work is generational work

and people are not going
to see the results

for another ten years,

and they want the here and now.

I have no doubt that not only
this is the right direction,

that it's a necessary direction.

We can't keep doing
what we did in the past,

'cause it didn't work.

[indistinct chatter]

♪

In the '80s, when I was
growing up in Kensington,

it was a crack epidemic.

The only answer was arrests
and police presence.

♪

When I'm advocating
for Kensington,

I'm saying move the resources

that we so easily spent
on mass incarceration

and redirect that
to an investment in programs,

which is what would make
our streets safer.

There's an issue of resources,
right?

And a very legitimate issue
of resources.

[indistinct radio chatter]

- All right, all right.

Well, thanks for coming.
Welcome aboard.

So the importance
of this beat here

is that you have
a school right there.

That was actually my school
when I was a kid.

I was born and raised

in the Fairhill part
of North Philly.

My parents still live
in the district,

so when I became an officer,
I wanted to come here.

Unfortunately, we still lead
the city in homicides.

Shootings, we're probably
right there.

So if somebody tries
to tell you something,

don't brush 'em off.

Get in the habit
of looking down.

People change their shirts.

They can't change
their sneakers fast.

Somebody can rip their shirt off

and now he's got
an undershirt on.

Just don't go over the air
and say "wifebeater."

It's very disrespectful.
It's inconsiderate, you know.

But I digress.
Let's walk this way.

[horn honks]

- We're happy to see you guys.

- We're happy to be here.
- You're needed in this area.

- I've been here
for a long time.

I've never seen this.

And the last two years
have gotten worse,

so I hope you guys
make it better.

Bye.
- Goodbye. Thank you.

[soft ambient music]

♪

With the opioid problem

right in Kensington,

you see a lot of people
living on the street

and using drugs
just out in the open.

We've had assaults.
We've had females get raped.

Who wants to come out
their house to see needles?

Children have to walk
through this to go to school.

So this is a norm,
and it shouldn't be.

♪

Somebody asked me,
"How you gauge success?"

I said, "There's nothing

to quantify our success
on paper."

[engine revving]

♪

'Cause numbers
can be played with.

Our success comes individually.

[upbeat Latin music playing]

[speaking Spanish]

I know there's a push
to get less people in prison.

I've had family members
who have gone to prison

and have come out and they've
changed their lives.

- There you go, boy.

- You're not trying
to lock somebody up forever.

What you want to do
is for them to change

what led them to get arrested
to begin with.

Thank you
for taking this profession.

You know, we need new officers,
young officers,

and I'm happy that you guys
are here in the two-five.

I'll see you guys
out there, all right?

all: Thank you, sir.
- All right.

[upbeat pop music playing]

♪

- Welcome, everybody,

to the 25th Police District
block party.

♪

- One, two, three!

All: Lighthouse!

- I gotta go.
I got called in.

- What do you mean?
You just got here.

- I know.

I got called in to a meeting
with the council president.

I'm sorry.

- All right.

- All right.

- Let me know
if you need anything.

- All right.

- I never thought
that these captains

would become personal friends
of mine, right?

And when you spend
so much time with them,

and when you're frustrated
with them,

and when you see
what they're doing

and they see what you're doing,

and it just changes
your whole perspective.

- [whining]
- [squeals]

♪

- So is this my report card?
Am I getting a report card?

- No, I wanted you
to debrief with me.

And then I'll give you
some feedback, positive,

and then some of the things
that we need to work on.

- Yeah.
I actually want a report card.

I'm kidding with you, but I do.
- I know.

So, I mean, essentially,
moving forward,

we really have to figure out

putting your office
in a relationship with police

and captains,
commanding officers and...

- I don't know if it's
the best thing to do,

but if you think it is,
I'm more than happy to do it.

- Well, here's what I would say.

Because, you know,

the narrative from the FOP
and others,

is that you're anti-cop...

- Mm-hmm.
- Well, I just came from

the 25th Police District
block party

that we helped put together.

It's a community event,
and you should be there.

I think that's the only way
you're gonna counter this.

You're not gonna change
the leadership,

but rank-and-file captains need
to feel comfortable with you.

- Mm-hmm.

- And there's a value
to that, right?

- All right.

- But you have to see that
there's a value to it.

I mean, if you're gonna...

- There's definitely a value

in having good relationships
with police.

There's definitely a value
in seeing what message

is being put out
when you're not there.

I mean, there's definitely
value in that.

- If you're not there,
it's their message, not yours.

[indistinct chatter]

And you know, need to get you,
this summer,

on a couple captain ride-alongs.

[piano playing]

- If they would like to see

that I know how to get
into a police car,

we can do that.

That's fine.

- You have to get
in the police car.

You have to hear
their perspective.

It'll go a long way.

I know this is stuff you...

- No, it's not that
I don't want to do it,

but it's useful
to do it with people

who aren't 100% deliberate
archenemies.

I mean, we have had...
I have had...

- They are not.
You'd be surprised.

And that's why I think
once people

in the rank-and-files
work with you,

I think we can really counter
some of that.

[soft dramatic music]

- Understood.

♪

- Criminal justice policies

changed dramatically
in the city of Philadelphia

after new D.A. Larry Krasner
took office.

He was backed by
George Soros and

Krasner massively scaled back
law enforcement in the city.

We spoke recently
with the president

of Philadelphia's Fraternal
Order of Police, John McNesby,

and here's what he told us.

- There's been 6,500 less cases
brought before

the Criminal Justice Center
here.

Crime is up.

4,000 felons are on the streets

running the city
of Philadelphia.

We have officers out there

arresting people
on a daily basis

and they're walking out
the back of police stations.

- Philadelphia's one of
the most incarcerated places

on the planet...
on the planet.

It's just unbelievable
that they have taken

what is not normal

and normalized it
to such an extent

that anything that is done
to try to restore balance

or bring us back into national
or international standards

is seen as some left-wing agenda

to make people less safe

when people weren't safe
for the last 30 years.

- On top of that, he's running
his own show here,

and it's like a carnival act.

- The enemies of civilization,
for sure.

- [laughs]

- Thanks very much
for telling us

what's going on in Philadelphia.

I appreciate it.
Good to see you.

- "The enemies
of civilization."

Who is he describing?

Wait, are we the enemies
of discrimin... of civilization?

Oh, I would strongly disagree
with that.

[soft music]

♪

Come on in.
We're doing ARD reviews.

- So defendant sold
$10 worth of marijuana

to an undercover officer.

102 grams of marijuana
and $650 were recovered

from the defendant's car.

No prior convictions,
no prior diversion.

- Anything else in the file
that we should think about?

- He's been working as a home
health aide for several years,

takes care of his mother,

is currently battling
stage IV lung cancer.

He's also expecting a child
in the coming months.

I would say yes.

- I say yes.

- Same.

- Okay.
What's next?

- It involves
a discharged firearm,

which definitely gave me pause.

So this guy was riding
a dirt bike,

was approached by a group of men

who he believed were intending

to forcibly rob him
of his dirt bike.

He did have a valid license
to carry.

He fired two warning shots
into the air.

The defendant
is a military veteran.

He was deployed
to Afghanistan twice.

You know, it's just
the discharged firearm.

You know, I'm not sure
what to do with these cases.

- We're trying to calculate
a risk

that we have no way
of really knowing, for sure.

- [sighs] You at first think

that discharging a firearm

would automatically disqualify,

but the primary purpose of ARD

is to give someone the benefit
of avoiding a conviction.

From a harm reduction
perspective,

every conviction you avoid
is a good thing.

I mean...
- They really are.

- The risk you were
talking about,

my job is to protect y'all
from that risk

so that you make decisions that
you think is seeking justice

without worrying about
all the other ways

in which it can be interpreted.

♪

- The D.A.,

he's writing memos about
not prosecuting criminals.

♪

Not one cop is gonna tell you
that he's on our team.

♪

- As far as the community,

a lot of times
it's just us telling them,

"Listen, that's out
of our hands.

That's the D.A.'s office."

If the thinking
is that you're more concerned

with the defendant
than you are the victim,

the community,
the police officer,

then that's gonna always
cause friction.

We always thought the D.A.
was on our side.

[siren wailing]

[indistinct conversation]

[siren wailing]

♪

If there isn't the opportunity
to press charges

after we lock people up,
so be it.

But you know, we have
our bosses that are telling us

to go out there
and still do our job.

We're told to do it...

[siren whoops]
And we're gonna do it.

[overlapping chatter]

- He's dead?

- 24 Town Four.
Do you have medics en route?

♪

[birds chirping]

- I was at this work meeting
last week, and they said,

"How's your relationship
with the police?"

And I was like, "It's new."
- [laughing]

- "And with every
new relationship,

"you gotta figure out
are you the kind of person

"that squeeze the toothpaste
from the middle,

or are you the person
that squeeze it from the end?"

I don't understand why you
would squeeze from the middle,

'cause the toothpaste
go every direction.

- Yeah.

- I prefer to squeeze
from the bottom,

but I ain't gonna tell you
not to squeeze from the middle,

'cause I really care
about our relationship.

[laughter]

[laughter]

- Yes. Paying attention.

- Here's the thing.

What are the police doing
still arresting people?

They know every single time
a simple possession

come across,
we gonna decline it.

And if they arrest them,
we not gonna prosecute.

So it's like, "Find
something else to do, man."

Like, what's going on?
[laughter]

- It's questioning
their authority is what it is,

and that's... and they
don't like that.

- Malarkey is what we call it.
- And that's just too bad.

- [chuckles]

- You have a lot of leverage
as a district attorney, right?

At charging,

because it's how the police
officers can clear their case.

You get an arrest
that comes through,

you get the description of
what the police say happened,

and then you have to make
an assessment

of what kind of a case is this?

One of the frustrations
that I'm having right now

is that where we have
declined cases,

police have gone to
the neighborhood associations

and either posted on Facebook

or gone to the
neighborhood meeting

and said,
"We would like to be able

"to get these bad guys
off your streets,

but the D.A.'s office
is declining these charges."

Three different occasions
that I know of.

And that's a bigger problem
than I think anybody is

really understands the scope
of or is ready to deal with.

[copy machine whirring]

- Let me just start off
by who is in attendance,

which is a veritable
laundry list of people

from the police department.

They want to cover charging
generally.

- That we shouldn't
decline cases

because they're all good cases.

Well, that's ridiculous.

- Correct.
- They're not good cases.

We should decline more.

- Yes.
- Because they brought crap.

The actual declination
is probably 8%.

- That's about right.

- As compared to the prior
declination rate,

which was about 2 and a half.

- The nationwide average
is, like, 15.

Meanwhile, they don't even
bother to upload discovery.

They need to give us
the discovery

in order for us to make
our charging decisions, period,

because what they don't do
is give us pictures,

they don't give us
the statements,

'cause it's too much trouble

because they want to be able to
process the arrests so quickly,

and as a result, we have
to just take their word for it,

which is not our job
and not what I'm doing.

Their discretion
is not my discretion.

- If they're trying to show
we decline more cases,

the answer is, yes,
and you're welcome.

Like, as a matter of law,

it's 100% crystal clear
it's our discretion out there.

- They don't understand that
in a very deep, cultural way.

- They don't understand that.

- I mean, I don't understand
why they wouldn't.

That's how the law works.

- And what they're doing
is saying,

"Well, we know
what the D.A.'s gonna do,

so we're not gonna
be writing this up."

It takes the form
of complaining to residents,

residents then complaining
to city council people.

- They're gonna talk
about theft for motor vehicle

and how it's a scourge
on the community

and that they're gonna claim
we don't charge those cases.

Not true.

They're gonna talk about more of

the police would arrest
the prostitutes

if they thought
we would charge, but we won't.

- Why don't you burn them
at the stake?

Or we could draw and quarter,
or torture, or behead.

Maybe that's the answer
is that we should make sure

all of our punishments
are not done according

to the interest of justice,

it's done so that they feel
motivated to do their job

for the paycheck
they get every week.

I mean, is that actually
what they're arguing here?

- Yes.
- Okay.

Well, this is gonna be
a frank exchange of ideas.

- [sighs]

♪

- Are you just patiently
waiting?

♪

- So who's excited?
[laughter]

♪

- After you.

♪

- We're in here.
- This is it.

[indistinct chatter]

♪

[latch squeaks]

[whirring]

[indistinct chatter]

[phone ringing]

- We had our whole chain
of command there.

We were given an opportunity
to speak, um...

very briefly on issues
that we were seeing, you know?

And then went around the table.
And then he... he spoke.

I felt like I was at closing
arguments at a trial,

and even though it was
a planned meeting,

it still felt like an ambush.

- Essentially,
the way the meeting went

was that it was a whole lot

of the community's very upset
about dot, dot, dot, dot, dot.

In many instances,
what they were upset about

turns out to be not
corroborated by any science.

You know, they're very upset
about thefts from autos,

except they aren't any higher
than they were last year.

- Mm-hmm.
- And so we had a discussion

that was, I think,
mostly constructive.

- To sit there and use "science"

as an excuse to tell us
that our...

What we're saying doesn't match,

it just didn't fly with us.

It's smoke and mirrors.
That's what it is.

And the people on the street
aren't stupid.

And that's why I don't go
with numbers to meetings.

You think if I look out
my door every day

and I see people defecating
and urinating in the street

and using drugs that I care
about how many people

you arrested for narcotics?

You didn't get that guy,

'cause I'm watching him
every day in front of my house.

♪

[indistinct chatter]

- The vast, vast majority
of people who are using

right now anywhere in the city,
anywhere in the country,

are not using it
to feel high anymore.

They're using it
not to feel sick.

But it really is
an important way of thinking

about what is
a substance use disorder.

- They're not causing
severe harm to themselves

or to the community.
- They are, they are.

You're mistaken.

They are, 'cause they are...
You've also got to look

at the violence
in those neighborhoods.

and that's a direct result
from those heroin markets

between the repeat
retail thefts which...

- Mm-hmm.

- And then the car
break-ins too.

- All the time.

- And it's the guys that you're
talking about that we know

they have
some underlying history.

But it's 20, 30 arrests,
sometimes more.

- 50 arrests is expensive.
- Time consuming.

- It's time consuming.

You have to fix windows
and all this.

It's expensive.
- And the victims, yes.

- Add up all that money, right?

It might make more sense

to put these people up
at the Four Seasons

for the year
with a full-time social worker.

You know, honestly,
if someone's just stealing

to sustain their addiction,
you could just give them $25.

[scattered chuckles]
- Yeah, that's...

- I know.
[laughter]

- How are we helping them?

I mean, they're
just gonna go back,

and then they're
an overdose victim, and...

- Right.
- We're using more resources.

- Look, I know that's not a way

to solve
the substance abuse disorder.

That's a way to solve
the retail theft.

- I always use the example.
I'm at Fourth and Lehigh.

I look over and I see one of my
daughter's high school friends,

and he's in the middle
of a sale.

I go grab him.
Like, "What's going on?"

He breaks down.
I know he's got an issue.

I have nowhere to take him.

Just don't...
Nobody can give me an answer.

- Mm-hmm.

- The question that is left
to my unit is what do we do?

We've identified
this vulnerable population.

We don't want these people
to die, right?

And we're trying
to be able to make...

- That's...
- Kind of... I get it.

- Yeah.

- And we're trying to make
the kind of intervention

that we need to make
in order to do that.

But the only tool that I have
at the point of arrest

to actual entrance
into treatment court,

no matter how good
we make treatment court,

is incarceration.

And I feel like in order to
have a meaningful intervention,

we have to talk
about that factor

because if the answer is we're
gonna just, in Philadelphia,

lock everybody up
for their own best interest,

I'm not even saying
that that's... like,

this whole situation
is terrifying.

♪

Everyone agrees
that the system is broken,

but not everyone agrees
what fixed looks like.

That kind of structural
change is hard

and people are frustrated
and scared,

and the thing that they have
been taught to do is call 911.

But it doesn't really
fix anything.

It just kicks the can
down the road.

♪

[siren whoops]

♪

- America's opioid crisis
is rampant.

In Philadelphia, last year,

drug overdoses killed
more than 1,200 people.

The community living
under the bridges

in the Kensington neighborhood

has been labeled
the Walmart of heroin.

- One of the more contentious
solutions being considered

to decrease the number of lives
lost to this epidemic

is setting up
safe injection facilities.

- A local non-profit
is planning to open

the country's first safe
injection site in Kensington.

- Philadelphia's mayor
and district attorney

are both in favor of opening
the safe injection site.

- Are there any questions?

- Isn't it the condoning
of people

taking illegal substances?

- No.
What actually happens there

is no one is giving drugs
to people.

The people who come in

were going to use
those drugs anyway,

and primarily, what is going on
is you're watching people

who have injected
their own drugs

to make sure that they do not
fall asleep and stop breathing.

1,200 people died last year.

We are not going
to prosecute people

who are trying to stop people
from dying.

- When I say, "Maria said no,"
you say, "She has to go."

Maria said no!
All: She has to go!

- Maria said no!
All: She has to go!

- Maria Quinones Sanchez has
been critical of any funding

going towards
overdose prevention sites.

So we are grateful that
District Attorney Krasner

has come out in support,
and we want Maria to step up

not just for our community
in Kensington,

but also as a leader
for the rest of the districts

around Philadelphia.

City Council lies!

all: Save our lives!

- City Council lies!

all: Save our lives!

- City Council lies!
All: Save our lives!

- By vowing not to prosecute,

D.A. Krasner
is essentially paving the way

for a safe injection site.

- Thank you.

- This summer in Kensington
has been horrific.

As much as we've cleaned up
tons of trash,

there's still tons of trash.

As much as we've issued
500 CVNs,

there's still people loitering
in the street.

As much as we've done
several hundred arrests,

there's still people
selling drugs.

♪

- I sweep needle every day.
Every seven days a week.

- About twice a week,
we clean this.

The city comes out.
Who's paying for that?

- We are.
- Krasner, he's a loser.

All he wants to do
is let everybody go.

- It's condoning drug dealing.

If you're gonna have
a safe injection site,

where are they gonna
get the heroin?

From a drug dealer.

♪

- Folks that are living
under these bridges,

they're somebody's dad,
they're somebody's sister.

Our loved ones matter.
Their lives matter.

We need to treat this like the
national epidemic that it is.

- 30 years and I've never seen
my neighborhood this bad!

And we're wrong for being
out here to get y'all to move?

No, we're not wrong!
We're tired!

And we want
our neighborhood back!

♪

- Not one more!
All: Not one more!

Not one more! Not one more!

Not one more!
Not one more!

Not one more! Not one more!

- I want to thank all of you
for being here and standing up,

because we all know
that you cannot find your cure,

you cannot find
a better situation

when you're addicted to drugs,
if you are dead.

And these supervised
injection sites, no one,

no one, no one ever dies.

In 15 years in Vancouver,
there has not been one death.

[cheers and applause]

[soft music]

- Larry wants
to keep people safe.

He wants to improve
the quality of life.

But when Larry takes
a policy position like,

"I'm for safe injection sites,"

the narrative
in Kensington becomes,

"He doesn't care
about my quality of life,"

and that's the misunderstanding.

And now we're totally distracted

with this one conversation.

- Do I believe
in harm reduction services?

Yes.
Absolutely.

But this location for
a safe injection site is wrong.

- My younger brother died
in 2017.

If there was
a safe injection site,

maybe, maybe I'd have
my little brother here.

This is evidence-based
harm reduction.

[crowd clamoring]
It is proven.

Excuse me, excuse me!
Why do you not support this?

- Okay.
Councilwoman Sanchez.

- Everybody wants to save lives.

It needs to be
a more comprehensive plan.

- If you're gonna put
these sites all over the city,

I suggest you put the first one
up by Krasner's house.

The one who is doing it.

- We need some responses.

If folks are not being charged,

if they're not being arrested,
we cannot survive.

And I definitely don't want
my 16-year-old

walking past the corner

because she's being hit on
by drug dealers

and I'm afraid of her
getting shot.

[applause]

- I think you have failed
the community.

Shame on you. Shame on you!
[applause]

- We have a bunch of people
in the middle stuck between

what the police are saying
and what Larry is saying.

I think we're blowing it
at that level.

People who go to meetings

are people who love the police.

You're gonna lose the narrative.

You're losing everybody.

♪

- The D.A., he needs to start
coming to these meetings,

because he can better answer
why, you know,

certain crimes
are being downgraded.

We shouldn't have to defend
what he's doing.

Our officers are out there
making arrests, and then,

you know,
then people get let out.

- Yeah, I know.

I have strongly encouraged him
to utilize those meetings

to explain his new philosophy,
because I don't think

it's as much defending it
as explaining.

If this is the way
you're gonna operate,

then you need to explain it.

People need to walk away

feeling like there's a
justification for it, right?

They may still disagree,
but there's an explanation.

And you're right.
- Mm.

- I am not defending
somebody else's policy.

- Yes.

- No one else
other than the office

who is promulgating new rules
and regulations

should be there to explain it
to the community.

- Yes.

- And I am no longer doing that

and I have expressed that
to my friend D.A. Krasner

that, like we say in Spanish...

[speaks Spanish]
- Mm-hmm.

Yep.
Stand it up.

- Stand up.

♪♪

- Good afternoon.

For about the last hour,

the President
of the United States

has met with different leaders

from the Fraternal
Order of Police

from across the country.

Activist D.A.s. are cutting
sweetheart deals.

We have a 45% reduction
in jails.

We need help in Philadelphia.
We called on President Trump.

We need to draw attention
to this

so that we get the help.

Thank you.

- You may have the worst
District Attorney

or whatever the hell you call...

This guy.

I've been hearing
about this guy.

He lets killers out
almost immediately.

What the hell?
How did you let that happen?

Philedelphia.

The city of brotherly love.

You better get yourself
a new prosecutor

in this place.

-Oh.

President Trump,

the most criminal president
of any of our lifetimes,

come to Philadelphia.

- There's a lot of energy
being spent from the FOP

promoting their interpretations

of what progressive
prosecution means.

And then, in turn, we have
to invest a lot of energy

in correcting that.

And it's a real,
constant pressure.

And sometimes,

you've just got to knock down
that obstacle in front of you.

Larry is a bulldozer,
and you need a bulldozer

to get through the political
strength of the police union.

[phone line trilling]

- Hello?
- Hi, Council Member.

This is Mike Lee.

The event next week came up,

and I just wanted
to get some details about that.

- So what we would have him do

is about a 15-minute
kind of presentation

about what's going on

because it's so [bleep] crazy
out there right now.

- Okay. Would there be any way
to do the 27th

as opposed to the 26th?

- Remember,
this is an official hearing.

- Okay.

- So send me an email confirming

that he's gonna participate,
and then it should happen.

- All right.
I will update Larry.

There is a chance
he may have to call you

about other engagements
on the 26th

and finding the right time slot
for him to come in.

- Mm-hmm.
He better figure it out.

Don't wanna hear no bull[bleep].

- [chuckles] Okay.

I shall relay your message.

[phone disconnects]

[sighs]

Got to sip some tea.

♪

- I recognize her frustration.

She sees the unfairness
of a difficulty

and a blight that's affected
that area

for a long time
getting worse and worse.

There's a generational lack
of power in every respect

including economically
and politically

and everything else.

♪

Police who see this
as a political opportunity

are blaming me.

They'll go to community groups

and they will tell them
untrue things

like I won't prosecute
drug sellers.

Things like that.
Why?

Because they want
to blame somebody.

There's so much politics
in this.

Because there is no
easy solution,

everybody's trying to point
at somebody else.

We have a lot of people
up for election in council,

so they latch on
to something that they can say

that's more encouraging
than the truth.

The truth is we don't have
great solutions.

- Many people in my district

have experienced
both sides, right?

They've been victimized,
at some point,

but they've also had people
in their family go to jail.

So I think if the people
of Kensington heard

and understood
the policy changes

that Larry has made,
they would totally support.

It's fairness, it's just,
it's due process.

The burden on Larry
is to get people to believe

that this is going
to be better for all of us.

[feedback screeches]

Good afternoon, everyone.
We're about to begin.

[feedback screeches]

- Thank you, council members,
for giving me the opportunity

to address the incredibly
important issues

of what's happening.

We've prepared
some data for today

and we have provided that
to the members of the public

who are here and also
to the council members.

This data gives you
the opportunity to review

to what extent crime

is actually going up
or remaining fairly constant.

But the most important point
is this.

For those of you
who are under the impression

that the district attorney's
office is not bringing cases

when the police make arrests,

well, that is nonsense,

and whoever has told you that
is misleading you.

The data is here,
and it is quite clear.

Homicide: five arrests.
Cases open: five.

Rape arrests: nine.
Cases open: nine.

Aggravated assault
and firearm arrests: 46.

Cases open: 43.

Virtually every single arrest

that is submitted to
the district attorney's office

is being charged,
with a couple of exceptions.

Number one,

we said that we would not
arrest and prosecute people

for possession...
I said possession...

of marijuana, and we don't,

and then the other thing
that we stopped doing

is prosecuting sex workers.

So if you are being told
by law enforcement

that this D.A.'s office
will not prosecute

a drug dealer,
you're being lied to.

We prosecute drug dealing
of all types,

including drug dealing
in marijuana.

Those are the facts,
and the statistics are here.

If you're being told by people
in law enforcement

that we will not
prosecute people

who break into your cars,
you're being lied to.

We do it all the time,
and the data is here.

There are occasions
when law enforcement

may not want to do something.

The battery got stolen
from your car?

They don't want to do it.

Let me tell you what else
they don't want to do.

They don't want to tell you
they don't want to do it.

Lot easier to say,

"Oh, district attorney'll
never prosecute it."

We are, in fact, in the middle
of an opioid crisis.

I know that your lives up here
are incredibly difficult.

When you have people who,
because they are suffering

from a disorder
called addiction,

are homeless, and they
are leaving dirty needles,

and they are shooting up
in public,

and your kids see it,

and your kids have to step over
dirty needles.

I know how incredibly difficult
that must be.

This is not the only place
it ever happened.

There's no easy solution to it.

I'm open to all good ideas
on this topic

and working with people,
but I'm not open to stupid.

I'm not open to doing stuff

that has never worked
and will never work.

So we're gonna have to work
with science

so that we can try
to get somewhere.

But hopefully, if we work
together, we can all do that.

[feedback screeches]

- Thank you, Mr. District
Attorney, for your comments.

I do want to make one remark,
though, which is that we,

as public servants, you know,
people rely on us,

and so to suggest
that someone is, you know,

outright lying because there
is a difference of opinion

that that's something

that we probably want to phrase
maybe in a different way.

We certainly don't want to give
the impression to the public

that we're not
all working together

and trying to address
some of the things

that are happening
in these neighborhoods

that have people
basically terrified.

I think that that's something
that we really have

to be much more mindful of.

So with that being said,
anybody have a comment?

Councilwoman Sanchez?

- Not disputing the data,

but when you are a resident

who can't have a flower pot,
who can't have a barbecue,

who can't have a chair,
how do we reassure them

that we are working to restore
their quality of life?

- I think one thing we do
is we present real data,

and what that real data shows

is that when there
are arrests made,

there are cases prosecuted,
then that should be reassuring,

because it means that
whatever they may have heard

is not correct.

- Thank you so much,
Mr. Krasner,

for attending and for
your comments this evening.

We really appreciate you
and look forward

to working together

to address all of these issues
that we have in our city so...

- Thank you, council members.
- Thank you so much.

- I appreciate your listening.

- Can we have the clerk
call the next panel?

- Excuse me! Excuse me!
[overlapping chatter]

- Mr. Brian Abernathy,
our city's managing director.

- Excuse me!
- Mr. Tumar Alexander.

- But he won't be able
to answer questions!

- Are you avail...

If you can check and ask him
to come back in

so that we can have
the community ask questions.

Thank... no, I... I...

Can we get him back here?

- Okay.
- To where?

- Just see if you can get him
to come back here.

- Just give me one second.
- Back to address the public.

- It's bull. He's still acting
as a defense attorney,

except me, you, and her
are paying his salary now.

And that's bull[bleep].

[suspenseful music]

- That, in a nutshell,

is a report out
on the work we've been doing.

We know there's a lot of work
left to do.

Uh, I'll let Brian...
[indistinct chatter]

♪

- It's gonna cost me a whole
lot of time in repair, right?

The takeaways from that meeting
is that the "science," right,

'cause he keeps using that,
right, that phrasing,

does not reflect their block,
their house,

their neighborhood.

That, to me, was so removed

from what we knew
we were gonna go into.

So he didn't read his audience,

he didn't prepare
for his audience,

and showed no sympathy
or empathy to the residents.

And that's not him,
'cause I know he cares.

- But that's why he gets
so heated when he says, like,

"If people say I'm not doing
this, don't believe 'em,

because I care, and I am."

- I asked him
a really softball question,

and it's like, what do
I tell the person in this room?

Like, how are we going to
restore their quality of life,

and what's your role in that?

And he couldn't
really answer that.

- Yeah, that's not good at all.

- And then he threw the police
under the bus.

You know, I gotta keep
those cops motivated.

I gotta work with them,
you know.

Larry's unwillingness to do
the retail politics

is part of who he is

and it's either gonna make him
incredibly successful or not.

Like, there's no middle ground.

He is instructing a bunch
of different people's worlds.

The prisons, the police.

It's the courts,
it's the executive.

You get all of those systems
deciding that he's a lone wolf

and they don't want
to cooperate or be helpful?

Not one member in council said

the D.A.'s budget
is my priority.

- Mm.

- They are gonna get all
the pushback from police

and all the other folks
about him being uncooperative,

so what's the incentive for them

to make sure you have
the resources you need?

I want him to be successful.

Every meeting I go to,

"Your boy, your boy,
your boy, your boy."

You know?

[laughing]
Yeah, he's my boy.

But until I can be reassured
that he gets what happened,

I'm not gonna put no more
political equity on the street.

[soft music]

♪

[indistinct chatter]

♪

[no audible dialogue]

♪

[horn honking]

♪

[horn honking]

- My brother persuaded me
to go to law school,

partly on the observation
that I love confrontation.

There is a part of me that
enjoyed being in a courtroom,

just because
I do enjoy expressing

the unpopular opinion
and winning people over.

And I enjoy, probably more
than anything, maybe too much,

saying the true thing
that nobody else will say.

That, you know,
being direct has its virtues,

but it may not have its virtues

when people are suffering
under difficult circumstances,

when they're feeling
a lot of pain,

when they have a need
to express themselves,

for reasons
that either do or do not

have much to do with our office.

I just... the challenge
is just to take it, take it,

take it, take it, and stay kind,

and listen more than you talk.

The challenge is, for me,
not to be me.

[siren wailing]

[tense music]

♪

- Good to see you again.
- Welcome, welcome.

- Hey, how are you?

- Nice seeing you.
- Nice to see you.

- So you're vice-president
of the...

- No, I'm the president.
- Board here?

- We can go in.

♪

We're gonna start with
District Attorney Krasner.

We're gonna welcome him.

[applause]

- First of all,
thank you for being here.

I appreciate
that you took the time.

I want to hear your questions.
Yes, ma'am?

- I would like to know
where the D.A. stands

on the safe injection sites,
because if this site is open,

it's gonna create
a criminal atmosphere,

because where there's addicts,

there are gonna...
Bound to be dealers.

- Let me just say this,
and I respect your opinion.

I really do.

Some people look at this issue,
and they think,

"Oh, you're only worried
about the people using drugs.

That's all you care about."

No, that is actually
not what we care about.

What we care about is that kids
should be able

to walk down the street
in their sandals

and not have so many
used needles on the street.

What we care about is you
shouldn't open your front door

and have somebody sitting
on your porch nodding off

who might be doing that inside
where people don't see it.

So if the question for me

is am I gonna take
a bunch of social workers

and a bunch of idealistic
doctors and medical students,

am I going to charge them
with crimes?

No, I am not.
I know that people believe,

'cause their intuition
may tell them

that this is going to result
in more crime.

Well, it doesn't.
It's been studied.

The studies are clear.

It does not result in more
crime around those centers.

Again, I say this respectfully,

'cause I appreciate what you
are going through here.

But the reality
is it has been a failure

to lock up people who use drugs.

- You can say we can't arrest
our way out of this,

and you're right,
maybe we can't,

but maybe arresting some of them

and sending a message
back to the guys

on the corner is correct.

Your job is the chief prosecutor

of the city of Philadelphia.

Your job is, as the police
officers are arresting people

that are committing crimes,
is to prosecute them,

to make the rest of us
sitting here safe.

We don't want a defense
attorney as our prosecutor.

You are not being fair
to the citizens here,

and if you can't see that,
I think you better go look

and see what
your job description was.

- Yes, yes.
- Okay. Let me just say this.

First of all,
I appreciate you being here.

I do. I appreciate...

- Oh, I wouldn't have
missed it; believe me.

- Okay.

- I missed going to the shore
to be here tonight.

- Well, I appreciate that,

and I appreciate
your expressing all of that.

There's no question that people
are going through

a very difficult time here,
and what you are describing,

the difficult situations
up here,

is not helped
by having this philosophy

that the police
are gonna solve the problem.

That is not fair to the police.

It puts too much burden on them.

Look, I'm not gonna
minimize anything

that you're going through.

What you're going through
is incredibly difficult.

The reality is,
even though this glut of pills

has made things a lot worse
in the last several years,

the heroin issue has been here
for more than 50 years.

Locking up people
all those years,

hollering "war on drugs,"
it got you here,

so I suggest we don't
keep doing what does not work.

I suggest that we prosecute
the dealers,

and we deal with the users
in a way that makes more sense.

I appreciate your passion.

I appreciate
how direct you were,

even when you disagree.

I want this conversation
to continue,

and I look forward
to the next chance

I'm gonna have to speak
to all of you.

So thank you very much.

[applause]

So what is it you think
we could do to help?

- I'm not sure,
because there's this cycle

of... we're living here,

and they buy, sell, use
their drugs here and recover.

Some... we have recovery programs

throughout the neighborhood.

The dealers,
with the demand being so high,

once they're arrested,
there's more to come.

Then when they get out,
they have, like,

the ones who came
and took their place.

- Yep.
- So I'm like,

I don't know how
to break this cycle.

But it's unfair, because
it's a very poor community.

That we can't keep replacing
things that are stolen.

- Now that I am in government,
what I've figured out

is that you have a megaphone
you never had before.

You are seen as speaking with
a certain level of authority

that requires you, at times,

to be a little quieter
than you might have been,

in private life.

It's almost just like having
a really booming voice.

It can be a little deafening,

and when you don't realize that,

because you got so many years
of not having that loud voice,

it takes some adjustment.

You have to turn down
the volume a little bit.

[soft music]

♪

- Next time
on "Philly D.A."...

- A Black man has been shot
by a police officer.

- Are we ever gonna be perfect?
No.

- He tries to shoot him
in the back.

Like, directly in front of him.

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

- What this is, this is murder,

and we're not having it.

- Clearly a district attorney

who has an anti-law
enforcement agenda.

- My guys don't trust you
as far as they can throw you.

What am I to tell them?

- I suggest you don't shoot
unarmed people in the back.

- "Philly D.A.,"

on PBS.

announcer: Independent Lens,

available now with PBS Passport.

- There had never been
anything like this.

announcer:
Your home for documentaries.

- There are secrets.

We need to find out
where the secrets are.

announcer:
Your home for docuseries.

- Black culture
was world culture.

announcer:
Stream the best of PBS...

- It's about time
I hear something besides,

"Blondes have more fun."

announcer: Anywhere.

- You want to go check it out?
- Yeah. Let's go.

♪♪