I honestly can not believe the reaction of the Philadelphia Mayor and Commissioner of Police to the vigilante justice that has happened recently here in Philadelphia.  I was always taught that beating someone to within an inch of his life was a crime, but here in Philly, you can be paid for it.

Let me start by relating what precipitated this vigilante justice – an absolutely brutal crime, the hideous rape of an 11 1/2 year old girl.  Please do not take anything I say in this blog as condoning the actions of the degenerate that committed this act.

Based upon evidence that developed, the police identified a suspect and “person of interest”.  This individual, who had a long history of criminal activity.  Within an hour of his name and picture being released, the individual had been captured by a crowd, who beat, kicked, punched and generally committed what would commonly be referred to as assault and battery bad enough to result to put the man into a critical care unit.

As reported in the Philadelphia papers:

About a dozen neighborhood residents flew into a rage yesterday afternoon when they cornered Jose Carrasquillo, who police said they had linked through physical evidence to the heinous Monday-morning rape of Reynolds’ daughter.

The justice-seeking mob rained fists, feet and wooden sticks upon Carrasquillo, 26, for several minutes until police intervened at Front and Clearfield streets.

When the dust cleared, Carrasquillo, whose last known address was Orkney Street near York, was in critical condition at a local hospital, and police officials were thanking the locals for helping them catch a man they had pursued feverishly but identified only as “a person of interest.”

Yet, the Philadelphia Police Commissioner sees no reason to charge these individuals – “I don’t condone violence,” said Police Commissioner Charles H. Ramsey, but then he quickly added that no one would be charged in Carrasquillo’s beating.

Mayor Nutter is no better, stating “I do not generally condone what someone might consider vigilantism out in our streets, but it’s indicative of the anger and the compassion that many of our citizens have.”

I can understand the anger, Mr. Mayor, but compassion – please forgive me if I find beating someone with wooden 2 x 4s as a poor example of compassion.

But the story has another twist – after police put out a description of the rape suspect and the FOP offered a $10,000 reward, another individual was beaten in the same neighborhood and sent to the hospital.  His crime – he resembled the description of the suspect that the police were interested in talking to.  However, he possessed one trait that the suspect did not – he was innocent.

So here we have a Mayor, a Commissioner of Police and the Fraternal Order of Police essentially applauding the actions of the citizenry in committing a violent crime.

No wonder Philadelphia ranks so high in crime stats – the government does not understand what constitutes a crime.  They think it is perfectly alright to beat a man to within an inch of his life.  I guess in Philadelphia, it is guilty unless proven innocent – even if you are innocent.

Absolutely unbelievable.

JustJon