Forty years ago today, city officials made the unconscionable decision to bomb its own people.
On May 13, 1985, a police helicopter dropped a military-grade bomb onto the roof of the MOVE organization home, a row house located at 6221 Osage Ave., in the Cobbs Creek section of West Philadelphia.
The resulting fire led to the deaths of 11 people including five children and the destruction of 61 homes.
The radical group had a history of violent encounters with the police, including a 1978 standoff with police in the Powelton Village section of West Philadelphia that resulted in the death of Police Officer James Ramp and injuries to officers and firefighters and members of the MOVE organization.
Nine MOVE members were convicted and sentenced for the killing of Ramp.
In 1981, MOVE members relocated to a row house at 6221 Osage Ave.
Neighbors on Osage Avenue complained to the city for years about trash around the MOVE home, confrontation with neighbors and bullhorn announcements of sometimes obscene messages by MOVE members.
In 1985, police obtained arrest warrants charging four MOVE occupants with crimes including parole violations, contempt of court, and illegal possession of firearms and making terroristic threats.
Police evacuated residents of the area from their neighborhood prior to their action. Residents were told that they would be able to return to their homes after a 24-hour period.
The police effort to oust MOVE members from their home resulted in a 90-minute shootout with the group before police used a helicopter to drop a bomb.
For the first time an American police force bombed its own citizens. The resulting explosion sparked fires which authorities allowed to burn. By the time the decision was made to fight the fire, it was already out of control.
MOVE’s disruptive behavior and history of conflict with the police did not justify the city’s actions.
Dropping a bomb on an occupied row house, especially one with children inside, was a highly disproportionate and unacceptable response to MOVE’s actions.
Five children between the ages of 7 and 13, along with six adults, perished in the MOVE house. Two full blocks were burned to the ground, leaving 250 Philadelphians in the Cobb Creek section homeless.
The investigatory commission set up by Mayor W. Wilson Goode concluded that the city’s decision to bomb the MOVE house was “reckless, ill-conceived and hastily approved.”
The deaths were classified as unjustified homicides by the commission investigating the incident.
Even though 40 years have passed, there are still negative consequences. The city’s medical examiner’s office and Penn Museum admitted to secretly holding onto remains from the MOVE bombing, reopening wounds decades after the tragedy.
Yet no one was ever held accountable for the bombing, and the city did not issue a formal apology until November 2020, when Philadelphia City Council formally apologized for the city-sanctioned bombing.
Last week, Philadelphia City Council, spearheaded by City Council member Jamie Gauthier, passed a resolution declaring May 13, “as a day of reflection and remembrance in the City of Philadelphia,” for the victims of the bombing.
This should have never happened. This can never happen again.
Reprinted from the Philadelphia Tribune