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U.S. Judge John F. Murphy on Thursday described the hour-long
predawn test on Sept. 23 as lacking foresight and judgment,
resulting in “a deeply disturbing and potentially dangerous
situation.” He gave the lawyers who oversaw the loudspeaker's
recorded screaming in south Philadelphia until the end of
October to apologize to people who live nearby, about a block
from the South Broad Street and Passyunk Avenue intersection.
“It was so jarring,” neighbor Rachel Robbins told The
Philadelphia Inquirer. “It was just really awful.”
The lawyers represent a man who is suing the city and several
officers over his arrest, conviction and 19 years in prison for
sexual assault before the conviction was vacated in 2020. The
man was shot by police three times at the scene.
At issue in the lawsuit is whether the man, who said he was
trying to help the victim in the case, could have heard the
woman's screams from two blocks away.
The loudspeaker was set up near row homes and a day care center
that was preparing to open for the day. Murphy wrote that
neighbors were upset, with some watching children go into the
day care facility while the recording was played.
“Plaintiff counsel's disregard for community members fell short
of the ethical standards by which all attorneys practicing in
this district must abide,” the judge wrote.
The apology must explain “their transgression,” Murphy wrote,
and take “full responsibility for the repercussions of the
scream test.”
A phone message seeking comment was left Tuesday for the lawyers
who represent the man suing the city.
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