PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Charges have been dismissed against a pair of former Philadelphia police officer brothers, who were accused of beating a man in Northeast Philadelphia in 2020.
The judge tossed the charges — simple assault, conspiracy and recklessly endangering another person — against Patrick and James Smith, both accused of chasing a 27-year-old who they thought was trying to break into cars.
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The man, who officials say has Asperger’s, told the judge that the Smiths — who were both off-duty at the time — pulled up to him in a car as he was walking down the street and confronted him. That’s when, he said, he got scared and ran.
The man said they chased after him and pushed him against a wall, eventually holding him down and calling for police. He told the judge he never tried to break into cars and didn’t touch the cars.
An internal affairs officer testified that the brothers did write a report about the incident. Defense attorneys showed a video of a man trying to break into cars before this incident, who they say was the 27-year-old.
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Prosecutors showed the court pictures of injuries on the man’s head, with some bruises on his limbs.
Eventually, the judge tossed the charges, adding that if the Smiths were anyone else in the city and not police officers, they wouldn’t have been charged.
Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner said in a statement that his office will “consider all possible avenues for seeking justice in this matter,” adding that they are noticing “a disturbing pattern of criminal cases against police officers” being tossed, only to be refiled.
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The police union called the arrests “baseless” and said Krasner “is only interested in carrying out his anti-police agenda.”
Patrick Smith retired from the force in 2020. Former Inspector James Smith was dismissed following an internal affairs investigation.