The Police Advisory Commission decided this week to subpoena Nizah Morris records from the District Attorney’s Office — setting the stage for an unprecedented court battle in the city.
Eleven commissioners and alternates attended the April 18 meeting of the civilian oversight board, all of whom voted for the subpoena. They said they expect it to be issued within the next few days.
Morris was a transgender woman found unconscious on a Center City street, bleeding from the head, shortly after receiving a courtesy ride from Philadelphia police.
She died two days later, on Dec. 24, 2002, from complications due to a fractured skull. The homicide remains unsolved.
The PAC has 14 recently appointed commissioners and four new alternates. They’re trying to determine if departmental regulations were violated in the Morris incident.
PAC secretary Chuck Volz, who is openly gay, expressed optimism that the subpoena will be successful.
“I think we have a good chance,” Volz said after the meeting. “We understand that we can’t interfere with an active homicide investigation. But that doesn’t mean we just throw up our hands and do nothing. That would be a bad precedent. We have to push the issue. We’re supposed to be open and transparent. That’s what the mayor wants, and that’s what we’re doing. We can’t do backroom deals and expect to have credibility with the community.”
Kathleen R. Padilla, an LGBT activist who has followed the case, praised the PAC’s decision.
“I applaud the commissioners’ commitment to ensuring their review includes all available information in this very murky case,” Padilla said. “I’m disappointed the DA chose to force the PAC to subpoena records that are required to perform their oversight responsibilities.”
State Rep. Babette Josephs (D-182nd Dist.) echoed those sentiments.
“I commend the PAC for taking a pretty bold step,” Josephs said after the meeting. “For eight years, I’ve been concerned that we had an unsolved murder, and police officers were the last known people in the presence of the victim. I think that Philadelphians and Pennsylvanians have a right to know whether police had anything to do with the murder.”
In January, the PAC asked the DA for “any and all 911 tapes, transcripts or other documents or materials that relate in any way to the matter of Nizah Morris,” along with an itemized list of all documents and other materials previously produced to the PAC by the DA’s office, and a log describing any materials withheld and the reason.
But in a March 21 letter, Todd M. Mosser, the DA’s chief of litigation, denied the request. Mosser said that releasing additional Morris records would jeopardize an ongoing homicide investigation and interfere with the internal operations of the DA’s office.
At the April 18 meeting, PAC chair Mu’min Islam said the PAC would give the DA at least 30 days to comply with the subpoena. If the DA doesn’t comply, the PAC is prepared to file court papers compelling him to do so, he said.
PAC parliamentarian James C. Crumlish 3rd spoke in favor of the PAC being formally designated as a criminal-justice agency by the state Attorney General’s Office.
He said having that designation will help PAC obtain Morris records, along with other criminally related records in the future.
“We think this is a very logical and necessary step for us to take in the development of the group,” Crumlish said.
In August 2008, the PAC issued a subpoena on then-DA Lynne Abraham for Morris records, but Abraham refused to comply.
Then-members of the PAC viewed Morris records at the DA’s office the following year. However, they weren’t permitted to photocopy documents, nor did Abraham verify that all Morris records were shown to them.
Tim Cwiek can be reached at [email protected].