1985 MOVE bombing

The 1985 MOVE bombing, locally known by its date, May 13, 1985,

The police obtained arrest warrants in 1985 charging four MOVE occupants with crimes including parole violations, contempt of court, illegal possession of firearms, and making terroristic threats.^[8] Mayor Wilson Goode and police commissioner Gregore J. Sambor classified MOVE as a terrorist organization.^[9] Police evacuated residents of the area from the neighborhood prior to their action. Residents were told that they would be able to return to their homes after a 24-hour period.^[10]

Incident

On Monday, May 13, 1985, nearly 500 police officers, along with

There was an armed standoff with police,[12] who threw tear gas canisters at the building. The MOVE members fired at them, and a gunfight with semi-automatic and automatic firearms ensued for 90 minutes.^[13] One officer was hit in the back in his flak jacket but was not seriously hurt.^[6] Police used more than 10,000 rounds of ammunition. At 2 p.m., Sambor ordered that the compound be bombed.^[13]

From a Pennsylvania State Police helicopter, Philadelphia Police Department Lt. Frank Powell proceeded to drop two 1.5-pound (0.75 kg) bombs (which the police referred to as "entry devices"^[9]) made of Tovex, a dynamite substitute, combined with two pounds of FBI-supplied C-4,^[14] targeting a fortified, bunker-like cubicle on the roof of the house.^[6] The bombs exploded after 45 seconds, igniting the fuel of a gasoline-powered generator and setting the house on fire, which was left to burn. Officials later stated that this was to let the fire burn through the roof and destroy the "bunker", so police could then drop tear gas into the house and flush out the occupants. 30 minutes later, firefighters moved in to control the fire but there was gunfire and the firefighters and police were ordered back as the fire spread to neighboring houses down the street. The only two MOVE survivors, Birdie Africa, who was 13 at the time, and Ramona Africa, both escaped the house. Police initially said that two men had also run out of the house at the same time and fired at them and that police had returned fire.^[6] Ramona Africa said that police fired at those trying to escape. Police said that MOVE members moved in and out of the house shooting at the police.^[15] The fire department later declared the fire under control at 11:47 p.m.^[6]

The fire killed 11 of the people in the house, six adults and five children: John Africa, Rhonda Africa, Theresa Africa, Frank Africa, Conrad Africa, Tree Africa, Delisha Africa, Netta Africa, Little Phil Africa, Tomaso Africa, and Raymond Africa. 61 neighboring homes were destroyed by the fire, leaving 250 people homeless.^[16]

Aftermath

Mayor Goode appointed an investigative commission called the Philadelphia Special Investigation Commission (PSIC, aka MOVE Commission), chaired by

In 1986, Philadelphia artists Ellen Powell Tiberino and her artist-husband Joseph created a seven-foot relief sculpture depicting their interpretation of the bombing. Titled “The MOVE Confrontation,” it depicted people engulfed in flames, Mayor W. Wilson Goode, a Death mask and horrified spectators. It created controversy in the city and produced headlines across the country.^[18] In 1985, Philadelphia was given the nickname "The City that Bombed Itself".^[19][20]

The MOVE Commission issued its report on March 6, 1986. The report denounced the actions of the city government, stating that dropping a bomb on an occupied row house was unconscionable.^[21] Following the release of the report, Goode made a formal public apology.^[22] No one from the city government was criminally charged in the attack. The only surviving adult MOVE member, Ramona Africa, refused to testify in court and was charged and convicted on charges of riot and conspiracy; she served seven years in prison.^[23]

Three lawsuits were filed against the city of Philadelphia including Louise James, administrator of the estate of Frank James in 1994; Ramona Africa in 1996; and Alfonso Leaphart, administrator of the estate of Vincent Leaphart.

A lawsuit appealing a judgment against the police and public officials was filed with the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit on November 3, 1994 Africa v. City of Philadelphia (In re City of Philadelphia Litig.), 49 F.3d 945 (1995) and was decided on March 6, 1995. The court decided that the plaintiffs did not have a Fourth Amendment claim against the city because there was no seizure when the defendants dropped explosives in the plaintiffs buildings, city officials and police officers had qualified immunity under 42 U.S.C.S. § 1983, but the city did not have qualified immunity from liability despite its officials being exempt.^[24]

In 1996, a federal jury ordered the city to pay a $1.5 million

In 2005, federal judge Clarence Charles Newcomer presided over a civil trial brought by residents seeking damages for having been displaced by the widespread destruction following the 1985 police bombing of MOVE. A jury awarded them a $12.83 million verdict against the City of Philadelphia.^[25]

In November 2020, the Philadelphia City Council approved a resolution to formally apologize for the MOVE bombing. The measure also established an annual day of "observation, reflection and recommitment" on May 13, the anniversary of the bombing.^[26][27]

Use of human remains from the bombings

Since the bombing, the bones of two children, 14-year-old Tree (Katricia Dotson) and 12-year-old Delisha Orr, were kept at the

The city stated the remains had gone unclaimed by the families after the bombing,[30] but in May 2021, the city of Philadelphia's Health Commissioner, Thomas Farley, resigned under pressure after it was revealed that in 2017 he ordered the cremation and disposal of victims' remains without either identifying them or contacting members of the family.^[31] A day after Farley's resignation, staff at the Medical Examiner's Office found the box labeled "MOVE" in a refrigerated area of their office containing the un-cremated remains. As of 2021, Mike Africa Jr. stated that the Africa family have not yet decided what to do with the remains.^[32] The sisters' remains from the Medical Examiner's Office were released to their surviving brother in August 2022.^[33]

Although the bones used by Monge in the "Real Bones" course were given to the Africa family in 2021, accounts differ regarding how many remains were at the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology and whether all bones from MOVE bombing victims at the museum were returned in 2021. A legal team hired by the University of Pennsylvania stated that the bones of Delisha Orr were never at the Penn Museum.^[34] However, an investigation by the City of Philadelphia disagreed, and stated that there was evidence that remains of Delisha Orr were at the Penn Museum.^[35] Nine forensic anthropologists certified by the American Board of Forensic Anthropology disagreed with the claims published by Penn's legal team and agreed with those of the City of Philadelphia.^[36] The City of Philadelphia also questioned whether all the remains of Katricia Dotson which were at the Penn Museum were given to MOVE in 2021.^[35]

See also

• Lists of killings by law enforcement officers in the United States
• Miracle Valley shootout
• Rainbow Farm
• Ruby Ridge
• Waco siege

External sites

• The Africas VS. America, a Canadian Broadcasting Corporation podcast telling the history of the incident.

References