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Krasner to address police commissioner’s rebuke amid Seiber killing case
Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner is scheduled to speak Friday after Police Commissioner Kevin Bethel criticized his comments about the earlier acquittal of Eric Lewis, now charged federally in the fatal shooting of Officer Shane Seiber. The dispute centers on Krasner’s assertion that misconduct undermined the investigation in a 2019 homicide case against Lewis.
Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner is expected to respond Friday to Police Commissioner Kevin Bethel’s criticism of his remarks about Eric Lewis, who is now charged in the fatal shooting of Philadelphia Police Officer Shane Seiber.
Krasner scheduled a news conference for 3:45 p.m. on Oct. 23. The dispute followed Bethel’s comments Thursday, when he said Krasner’s statements came as officers and Seiber’s family were grieving.
“My officers were suffering and you stand up and you talk about something that is unnecessary,” Bethel said during a news conference announcing federal charges against Lewis.
Lewis, 35, faces federal counts including robbery affecting interstate commerce, discharging a firearm during a crime of violence, and possessing a firearm as a felon. He is also charged with theft and possession of a stolen firearm and ammunition. Prosecutors accuse him of killing Seiber, 40, and wounding Seiber’s partner in a West Philadelphia shooting on Oct. 10. The charges are allegations; Lewis has not been convicted in the officer’s killing.
The case has renewed scrutiny of Lewis’ earlier prosecution in the 2019 killing of Christopher Williams, 32, in West Philadelphia. Lewis was arrested in 2020 and later acquitted at trial. Krasner has said the verdict followed serious investigative failures and alleged misconduct by detectives and officers. He has described Williams’ killing as a road-rage murder and said the judge had no choice but to acquit Lewis.
Krasner also alleged that a former officer involved in the investigation was dating Lewis’ sister at the time. The source material does not include a response from that former officer or further details about the alleged relationship.
Krasner, who did not attend Thursday’s federal-charge announcement, said in a statement that violence against law enforcement required coordination and communication. He said he would continue reaching out to Bethel and Mayor Cherelle Parker, but was waiting for a response. He also said his office would pursue the prosecution with “vigor, determination, fairness and transparency.”
Krasner said an earlier statement and video from his office were intended to correct what he characterized as false information shared with media outlets by a senior law-enforcement official who works for Bethel.