Summer of fear

A lifelong South Philly resident, Harriett Brown has seen her share of violence and has attended more funerals than she cares to count.

This month alone in her Grays Ferry neighborhood, a 15-year-old was shot and killed and a 13-year-old was shot in the neck.

But on the Fourth of July, tragedy hit closer to home when her 37-year-old cousin, Robby Mays, was found shot to death behind the wheel of his BMW near 19th and Morris streets.

"It’s as if the funeral homes and memorials are the second home to this community," said the resident of the 2300 block of Dickinson Street. Brown is head of the Philadelphia Alliance for Community Improvement, which runs the Alliance Town Watch. The small town watch covers part of Grays Ferry.

But this summer’s crime wave has been too much for a band of neighbors; the deadly cycle of retribution is even pushing police to the brink.

A recent string of shootings began June 28. The most recent came July 7, when a 13-year-old was shot in the neck outside his house.

At least two of the shootings have been fatal, including the high-profile July 1 slaying of 15-year-old Malik Upchurch, who was gunned down while riding his bike on the 2800 block of Wharton Street.

Now, many residents are saying enough is enough.

"We’ve got to stop it," said Brown. "I don’t know where the mindset is that for some reason we must excuse the drug dealing, we must excuse the violence and turn our heads the other way and continue to go day-to-day without it being a really traumatic crisis for the community."

Grays Ferry residents gathered for a peaceful demonstration Saturday night, calling for a cease-fire to the bloodshed.

But Brown questions the value of such gatherings.

"The battle cannot be won by addressing it after the fact. Instead, the community needs to be proactive," the activist insisted. "Words, marches and memorials alone won’t do it. Calling the police alone won’t do it. Going in the house and shutting your door won’t do it. You’re going to have to stand up and be counted."

Brown contended that the community knows what’s going on — who is responsible for the violence and why — and said it’s high time neighbors stopped "shielding their own."

"If you have sons and daughters involved in drug trafficking, then you need to report it. If you think it’s OK because it’s just happening in your house, it’s not; it’s going to impact the community because that child will get caught up in the whole spectrum of violence," she said.

Capt. Jerrold Bates of the 17th District attended a community meeting with Brown at Chew Playground, 19th and Washington, on Tuesday morning. He and Sgt. Steve Biello of South Detective Division agree with the community leader.

"As police, we can only do so much," Biello said. "We need the community’s cooperation. There is always someone who sees and hears something and we’re more than willing to work with them on an anonymous basis. The most frustrating part of our job as investigators is lack of cooperation from residents in clearing up these shootings."

While police are hard-pressed to find any witnesses to violent crimes, scores of folks will come forward with details if a police officer shoots a dog, Bates noted pointedly.

The ills haunting the 17th District do not mark a sudden change, the captain said.

"A neighborhood doesn’t lose its identity overnight. The community allows a neighborhood to go bad," he said.

Police and residents like Brown remain adamant the situation is "bigger than police," as Bates put it.

Poverty, broken homes, drugs and alcohol and lack of education are just a handful of the viruses infecting Grays Ferry and neighboring Point Breeze, they noted.

"It’s like a dangerous combustion, and guess what? It’s just boiling," Bates said. "The police are the first line of defense. The police didn’t create this problem, but we have to deal with it. And we are dealing with it, but it’s not our responsibility to teach kids to respect human life and property. This all starts at home."

Brown agreed with the captain’s points.

"Every day as parents, we have to be out in the community with our children," she said. "We have to right the wrongs. We have to be there as guides and mentors for our children."

Since the violence in the 17th District has heated up, not a day goes by without Bates receiving several phone calls from residents contending police aren’t doing enough.

Neighbors aren’t the only ones feeling frustrated.

"When I hear the police aren’t doing anything, it’s a slap in the face to me and these officers here," the captain said. "Monday night, one of my officers in the 2300 block of Gerrit Street had a weapon pointed in his face by a 15-year-old who just shot somebody on that block. Tuesday night, one of my officers was shot at on the 1600 block of Tasker by a 17-year-old."

Both officers escaped harm and both suspects were arrested, Bates added.

A female officer working in the 17th District said the dangers affect police just as much as residents.

"These people are determined they want to kill each other. It’s just a shame," she said. "We’re just as upset about it as they are because we have to work in the district. If it’s violent for them, it’s violent for us."

But a resident born and raised on the 1600 block of South Etting Street, who did not want to give his name, remained critical of Bates and his officers.

"The 17th District is not doing their job. They are not on patrol and they are not on the streets," he said. "If they’re doing such a good job, how come all these 14-year-old kids are being killed? How are these drug operations going on?

"This is a drug war going on down here. Do you think these kids riding their bikes are innocent? They’re mules," the man added, referring to drug couriers.

The resident said he asked the district to provide a patrol car to monitor the activity but was told the department didn’t have the manpower.

Police department resources do not allow for a cop on every corner, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, Bates responded.

Town watches are one way the community can get involved, the captain said. The 17th District’s Police District Advisory Council is another.

DiSilvestro Town Watch is the only active organization in the 17th District, he said. "With 50,000 residents, I got one town watch."

Brown thinks police are doing the best they can.

"Let’s face it. They’re undermanned and they are outgunned. When you talk about the police, that’s not the crux of the problem," she said. "Their job is not to solve the social ills that lie in the community and in our homes. They are not there to stop your son from selling drugs. The bottom line is, as a community and as parents, we are not doing our jobs."

Blood feuds

Investigators believe much of the violence in Grays Ferry is linked. In many cases, bullets fly in the name of revenge. Here is a look at the connections among recent crimes in the area.

June 28 Three passengers were shot inside a parked car on the 2800 block of Dickinson Street. The driver escaped harm. Police questioned the driver several times following the incident. On July 7, he "finally told us the truth after lying to us for a week," Bates said. Now, an arrest is pending for the two shooters, Biello said yesterday.

Police believe the shooters were gunning for the driver as a result of an earlier conflict. Weeks before the June 28 incident, the driver saw one of the 18-year-old shooters bouncing his 12-year daughter on the 18-year-old’s lap, and became angry at what he deemed inappropriate behavior. Words led to fists and eventually bullets.

One of the three shooting victims was Hakim King, 18, of the 3100 block of Tasker Street. King’s younger brother, Jermaine, is the second suspect wanted in 15-year-old Malik Upchurch’s July 1 slaying, police said.

July 1 Upchurch, of the 1300 block of South 27th Street, was gunned down riding his bike on the 2800 block of Wharton Street.

Hours after Upchurch’s shooting, 17th District officers arrested his cousin, Rodney Johnson, 19, of the 1200 block of South 27th Street for unlawful possession of a firearm. According to Bates, Johnson told his officers that he was going to "shoot up the 3100 block of Tasker Street," allegedly to avenge Upchurch’s death, said Homicide Lt. Joe Maum. Police initially reported the 15-year-old’s slaying to be the result of a feud between rival blocks.

On July 7, police arrested Aleem Williams, 17, and charged him with Upchurch’s murder.

July 5 Hakim King is shot at again with a Tech-9 on the 1200 block of South 31st Street. King escaped flying bullets, Bates said.

July 6 Another triple shooting, and this time, it’s fatal. Kareem Cooper, 25, from the 6800 block of Guyer Avenue in Southwest Philly, was shot 11 times in the torso on the 1900 block of Ellsworth Street. Bates called Cooper "a known felon with 17 priors." One of the other two victims, Hakim McClenton, 28, of the 1600 block of South 23rd Street, was "out on parole living in a halfway house and hanging out with a known felon with 17 priors," Bates added. McClenton’s parole officer paid the captain a visit the day after the shooting. "Hopefully when he gets out of the hospital, he’ll go back to jail," Bates said. If not, the captain said, the victim will probably avenge his shooting or do more harm on the streets.

July 7 Joey Smith, 13, was shot in his neck while sitting on his steps on the 2700 Dickinson Street. The teen was taken to a hospital in stable condition. The victim told police he heard two gunshots, then ran inside his house and told his mother he had been shot.

–by Lorraine Gennaro