Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner said this week that police misconduct, which he called “arguably criminal,” led to the 2019 acquittal of Eric Lewis, the man now charged with fatally shooting Philadelphia Police Officer Shane Seiber during an ambush.
Lewis, 35, faces murder, homicide of a law enforcement officer, attempted murder, 10 counts of attempted homicide of a law enforcement officer, aggravated assault, terroristic threats and other charges in connection with the shooting, which killed Officer Seiber and wounded his partner.
In a video statement Tuesday, Krasner addressed questions about why Lewis was free at the time of the ambush, pointing to the earlier murder case in which Lewis was acquitted.
“Why this man was out of custody? The answer is this, this man is out of custody because a balanced, good and fair judge did what he had to do because two absolutely excellent prosecutors did everything humanly possible with a case and an investigation that was so deeply flawed. It was not just full of errors and mistakes, very serious ones. But some of the conduct involving one police officer… And one detective is arguably criminal. Yes, I said criminal,” Krasner said.
According to Krasner, an officer involved in the earlier case was in a relationship with Lewis’ sister and tried to “torpedo” his testimony. Krasner said the officer invented a story about receiving an anonymous tip naming a person called “Spice” as the real killer — a person Krasner said does not exist.
“This is beyond outrageous. This is giving false information to law enforcement. It’s not the only thing he did to try to get out of participating in the case. It’s obstruction of the administration of justice. And it is frankly, well, outrageous, despicable and tragic all at the same time,” Krasner said.
Krasner said the judge in that case reported the matter to police internal affairs. He said one officer was fired and another was disciplined as a result, though he said he has no further information on the outcome.
The Philadelphia Police Department pushed back on Krasner’s remarks in a statement to Fox News. “Assigning blame while families are grieving does nothing to advance accountability or support those affected,” the department said. “True leadership does not seek to assign fault in a moment like this. It stands with the families. And when the time comes, it holds itself to the same scrutiny it asks of others.”
Court records show Lewis, who worked for the Philadelphia Water Department, has a criminal history dating to 2012, when he was convicted of theft and receiving stolen property. He was convicted of gun-related offenses and simple assault in 2013 and received probation. In 2018, he pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct involving fighting and was again sentenced to probation.
Officer Seiber, 40, was an Air Force veteran who had served 10 years with the Philadelphia Police Department. He is survived by his wife, a 7-year-old son and a 3-year-old daughter.
