In the last decade alone, there have been a reported 435 shootings by Philadelphia police officers, with 103 civilians killed. And across the country, many police shootings have been captured on video by witnesses, sparking highly publicized protests and police firings and suspensions. In some cases, they have also resulted in lawsuits. One such case involved the 2014 shooting in West Philadelphia by plainclothes police officers of an innocent college student working as a food deliveryman to earn money to pay his tuition. Philippe Holland suffered bullet wounds to his leg and face. He survived the shooting but suffers seizures and other medical problems to this day as a result of the incident. The case provoked legal action and ultimately resulted in a $4.4 million settlement by the City of Philadelphia – the largest settlement ever in the nation in a non-fatal police shooting — and new police training and procedure protocols. Cases of police shootings was the recent topic of a program on a WHYY radio program featuring Tom Kline, the lead attorney who represented Holland. “There is a need for the public to feel safe, not only safe from criminals but safe from the police,” Kline said. Also commenting was a criminologist from Bowling Green University. Listen to the program below.
