U.S. Attorney William McSwain accused Philadelphia’s district attorney of fostering a communal disrespect for law enforcement that contributed to a shooter injuring six police officers on Wednesday.
“What I witnessed last night was true heroism by the Philadelphia police,” McSwain said in a Thursday statement. “But the crisis was precipitated by a stunning disrespect for law enforcement — a disrespect so flagrant and so reckless that the suspect immediately opened fire on every single officer within shooting distance.”
“Where does such disrespect come from?” McSwain asked. “There is a new culture of disrespect for law enforcement in this City that is promoted and championed by District Attorney Larry Krasner — and I am fed up with it.”
McSwain continued, saying that Krasner’s office routinely downgrades violent crime charges and contributes to “lawlessness” in the city by ignoring whole sections of legal code.
When reached for comment, Krasner called McSwain’s attack a “distraction.”
“The U.S Attorney is not a political elected office. I’m surprised that William McSwain would seek to detract from the great collaborative work of law enforcement last night — for which bipartisan leaders in City Hall just minutes ago had nothing but praise, and rightly so — for his own political agenda and personal gain,” Krasner said in a statement. “Thank you for your question but I will not be part of a distraction from the serious work before law enforcement in Philadelphia, which is to fully investigate this assault on our police officers and neighbors, and to bring the perpetrator — and any co-perpetrators — to justice.”
Krasner, a Democrat, won the district attorney’s race in 2017 after campaigning to bring widespread changes to Philadelphia’s criminal justice system.
Krasner surged to victory with significant financial backing from New York billionaire George Soros, who dumped $1.7 million into a PAC that aired pro-Krasner advertisements throughout the race.
As incoming district attorney, Krasner replaced former District Attorney Seth Williams after Williams was indicted on federal corruption charges and sentenced to five years in prison.
The Philadelphia police union supported Krasner’s long-shot Republican opponent Beth Grossman and accused Krasner of showing “an open hostility against police and law enforcement in general.”
