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The family of slain Temple University police officer Chris Fitzgerald on Wednesday called for Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner’s recall after he rejected use of the death penalty for the suspect in Fitzgerald’s murder.
Fitzgerald, a 31-year-old husband and father of five, had been trying to stop teenagers dressed in black from committing a carjacking on a Saturday night along the edge of Temple’s campus when then-18-year-old Miles Pfeffer shot him six times in the head — all captured on Fitzgerald’s body-worn camera.
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They have been pushing for Pfeffer to be sentenced to death ever since, but they found out Tuesday night that Krasner would be declining to do so.
“As a uniformed police officer in the city of Philadelphia … volunteering his time off duty away from his family to give back, for someone like that, who made us so proud as a family, to be struck down in the streets of Philadelphia and for the district attorney to decide that this isn’t worthy of … a judge or jury to consider the death penalty as a means of punishment for this offense is reprehensible,” Joel Fitzgerald, Christopher’s father, a five-time police chief and Philadelphia native, told Fox News Digital.
FATHER OF TEMPLE UNIVERSITY POLICE OFFICER SHOT ON DUTY TELLS PHILDELPHIA DA HE’S ‘NOT GOING AWAY’
Slain Temple University police officer Christopher Fitzgerald is pictured with his father, Joel Fitzgerald Sr., former police chief of Waterloo, Iowa.(Handout)
Due to Joel Fitzgerald’s professional background, his family “knows and understands the legal system.”
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“Imagine what happens every day to families across Philadelphia,” he said.
TEMPLE POLICE SHOOTING SUSPECT SHOT OFFICER 3 MORE TIMES AS HE LAY ON GROUND WITH HEAD WOUND: OFFICIALS
Slain Temple University police officer Christopher Fitzgerald was a 31-year-old husband and father of five.(Handout)
Pfeffer was charged in February 2023 with murder, murder of a law enforcement officer, robbery, carjacking, possession of an instrument of crime, and other related charges, the district attorney’s office said at the time.
The now-19-year-old allegedly robbed Fitzgerald of his gun after shooting him, and authorities say the suspect fled the scene and went on to commit a carjacking after killing the officer. U.S. Marshals and Bucks County police arrested Pfeffer the next day in his hometown of Buckingham Township.
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TEMPLE UNIVERSITY OFFICER FATALLY SHOT IN HEAD IS SON OF FORMER TEXAS POLICE CHIEF: ‘SELFLESS SERVICE’
The quick apprehensions of two minors initially pursued by slain Temple University police officer Christopher Fitzgerald helped lead to the capture of suspected killer Miles Pfeffer, authorities said.(Philadelphia Police Department/U.S. Marshals)
A civil lawsuit filed by the Fitzgerald family against Pfeffer’s parents and his mother’s boyfriend alleges that Pfeffer’s mother picked the suspect up in Philadelphia after the shooting and drove him home.
Fitzgerald’s family fears Krasner will try to make a plea deal with the defendant for third-degree murder instead of first-degree and avoid a jury trial because he has his “own agenda,” Joel said.
“What we’re very conscious of now is [Krasner’s] ineffectiveness and his inability to allow citizens to make the decision. He’s taken that decision out of their hands. And if it can happen to us, it can happen to you,” Joel said, calling the DA “problematic.”
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Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner(AP Photo/Matt Rourke/File)
Dustin Slaughter, spokesperson for Krasner’s office, told Fox News Digital that Krasner has been “consistent with his oath to seek justice and uphold the law” and “will not seek the death penalty in the case of Miles Pfeffer, who murdered Police Officer Fitzgerald.”
“This decision was made after extensive input over many hours from the family of Officer Fitzgerald, and from experts. The members of the DAO committee that considers possible death penalty matters include attorneys with a cumulative total of hundreds of years of homicide and other criminal trial and appeal experience,” Slaughter said, referring to a committee Krasner created to consider potential death penalty cases.
Slaughter said the committee “reviewed all aspects of the case itself and all obtainable information on the defendant prior to making their recommendations to DA Krasner, who made the final determination.”
Pfeffer faces multiple charges, including murder of a law enforcement officer.(U.S. Marshals)
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“The input of the family is deeply appreciated and was carefully considered by the committee and DA Krasner prior to his decision. The DAO looks forward to continuing to support the family’s needs and to vigorously prosecuting this terrible murder,” Slaughter said.
Marissa Fitzgerald, Christopher’s widow, told Fox News Digital that “it is important for all of the city of Philadelphia to know how Larry [Krasner] handles cases that are so heinous like this.”
“He’s basically sending a message that it’s OK for you to brutally execute not only a police officer but a family man – a husband, a father, a son, a brother – and you’ll get a slap on the wrist. And it’s stating that he doesn’t care what we want as victims,” she said.
Miles Pfeffer allegedly shot and killed Temple University police officer Christopher Fitzgerald in February 2023.(Handout)
Marissa added that her family is already living a “nightmare,” and for Krasner to drag them “through the mud like this is disgusting, it’s distasteful, and the citizens of Philadelphia need to know what kind of DA they have on their hands.”
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The Fitzgerald family is calling for residents to recall Krasner due to his handling of Christopher’s case.
PHILADELPHIA OFFICER SHOT IN HAND WHILE SERVING WARRANT
The Temple University Police Association called Krasner a “disgrace” in a statement posted to Facebook on Wednesday.
Christopher Fitzgerald served with the Temple University police since October 2021.(Temple University Police Association)
“The disgrace of a District Attorney Larry Krasner, will NOT seek the death penalty in the murder case of our hero, Sgt. Christopher Fitzgerald,” the association wrote. “Absolutely devastating news for the Fitzgerald family and law enforcement officers throughout Philadelphia.”
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Krasner has been vocal about his opposition to the death penalty. Just days before the DA’s office filed charges against Pfeffer, Krasner issued a statement in support of Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro’s opposition to the death penalty.
Suspect Miles Pfeffer is shown in a holding cell.(FOX 29 News Law Enforcement sources)
“Given Governor Shapiro’s previous and consistent support for upholding the death penalty as Attorney General, today’s announcement that Shapiro now opposes the death penalty is a very welcome and encouraging evolution in his position,” Krasner said in a Feb. 16, 2023, statement.
In 2019, Krasner’s office found that 72% of death penalty cases in Philadelphia between 1978 and 2017 were “ultimately overturned,” his office said in a press release.
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“The death penalty in Pennsylvania overwhelmingly applies to Black and brown defendants, mentally impaired defendants, and poor defendants who cannot afford legal counsel and are assigned court-appointed lawyers. It does not do what the law requires – apply the ultimate penalty to the worst offenders who commit the worst homicides. Rather, it applies the ultimate penalty to the poorest and most impaired defendants,” the DA said at the time.
Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner speaks in Philadelphia, on Jan. 11, 2024.(AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
Gianno Caldwell, Fox News analyst and founder of the Caldwell Institute for Public Safety, on which Joel Fitzgerald serves as a board member, released a Wednesday statement saying the Fitzgerald family is calling “on Pennsylvania Attorney General Michelle Henry to empower newly appointed Special Prosecutor Michael Untermeyer to adopt the case.”
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“Police unions, including the Philadelphia FOP Lodge 5, Temple University Police Association, and the PA State FOP, have also joined in condemning the fact that Krasner will not seek the death penalty in this case; to not give judge or jury even the option for considering death in this heinous crime is asinine,” Caldwell said.
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The Fox analyst, whose younger brother was fatally shot in Chicago in June 2022, noted that “murders have increased every year Krasner has been in office. (A staggering 57% increase in murders compared to pre-pandemic numbers.)”
Carjackings, armed robberies and burglaries have also increased since 2020, Caldwell said.
TJ Biel scored 21 points and Newport native Ace Flagg added 10 points and seven rebounds as the University of Maine men’s basketball team held on for a 74-70 win over the New Jersey Institute of Technology on Saturday in Newark, New Jersey.
Logan Carey added 11 points and five assists for the Black Bears, who improve to 3-15 overall and 1-2 in the conference. Yanis Bamba chipped in 14 points.
Maine led by seven at the half, but NJIT went on a 13-0 run in the first four minutes to take a 43-37 lead. The Black Bears recovered and took the lead on a dunk by Keelan Steele with 7:53 left and held on for the win.
Sebastian Robinson scored 24 points and Ari Fulton grabbed 11 rebounds for NJIT (7-11, 2-1).
The state commission charged with oversight of Massachusetts police decertified five former officers from around the state, including a former deputy police chief convicted last year of raping a teenage girl while serving as a school resource officer.
Former Hopkinton Deputy Police Chief John “Jay” Porter was convicted in June of conducting a sexual relationship with a 15-year-old student off-campus between 2004 and 2005. He was sentenced to seven years in prison.
Porter’s decertification last month by the Massachusetts Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) Commission means he, along with the other four decertified officers, will be permanently prohibited from serving as police officers in the state. The decertifications bring the total to 75 since the POST Commission was created in 2020.
The woman in Porter’s case did not come forward to report the assaults until 2022, MassLive previously reported. The Middlesex County District Attorney’s Office said previously the student often sought support from Porter when she was in the 9th and 10th grades, but their relationship changed when she was 15, “going from a trusted adult and student to a flirtatious, then sexual one.”
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The case also implicated former Hopkinton Police Sgt. Timothy Brennan, who was fired from the department for not reporting Porter to law enforcement after the victim confided in him about the assaults. She first informed Brennan of her inappropriate relationship with the former deputy chief in 2017 and told him not to report Porter, saying she would deny the information if he did so. She ultimately came forward to the district attorney’s office at his encouragement.
According to the decertification order released Dec. 19, Porter did not respond to mailings from the commission or defend himself against its allegations.
The commission redacted information from its decertification order detailing the misconduct allegations against Porter. In past cases, the board has redacted information covering criminal charges against officers or their personal information.
State Police Trooper Calvin Butner
Retired Massachusetts State Police Trooper Calvin Butner of Halifax was also decertified in December after he pleaded guilty last year for his role in a bribery scheme to provide Commercial Driver’s License credentials to unqualified applicants.
Between May 2019 and January 2023, authorities say, Butner and three others within the State Police Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) Unit, which is responsible for administering CDL skills tests, agreed to give passing scores to at least 17 applicants, regardless of whether they passed the test. In exchange for the passing grades, the troopers involved in the scheme received thousands of dollars in gifts and services, MassLive previously reported.
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Authorities say Butner gave passing scores to three people who failed the test and five who did not take the test at all. He was sentenced in August to three months in federal prison followed by one year of supervised release, with the first three months in home confinement.
Butner did not respond to the POST Commission’s communications or defend himself.
Hull Police Sgt. Scott Saunders
Scott Saunders, a former Hull Police Department sergeant, was also decertified in December, and the related decertification order was redacted. Saunders was charged in 2023 with assaulting his 72-year-old neighbor, with whom he had a reported history of disputes. The case in Plymouth District Court was continued without a finding in August, allowing it to be dismissed if Saunders meets the conditions of probation.
The neighbor told the media at the time that Saunders hit his car with a paddleboard as he drove past him that day. When the neighbor got out of the car to confront the sergeant, he said Saunders pushed him down and punched him.
The Hull Police Department immediately placed Saunders on leave after the incident.
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Saunders did not respond to the POST Commission’s communications or defend himself. MassLive was unable to contact Saunders for comment.
Greenfield Police Officer Christopher Hewitt
The reasons behind the decertification of former Greenfield Police officer Christopher Hewitt are unclear. Much of the commission’s December decision was redacted.
The POST website cites a section of Massachusetts General Laws that says, “The commission shall immediately suspend the certification of any officer who is arrested, charged or indicted for a felony.”
Hewitt also did not respond to the commission’s allegations against him. MassLive was unable to contact Hewitt for comment.
Peabody Police Officer Gerald Fitzgerald
The final officer decertified last month, Gerald Fitzgerald, formerly of Peabody Police Department, signed an agreement with the commission to have his certification permanently revoked and waive his right to contest the facts of his decertification in the future.
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Fitzgerald was accused of falsifying an incident report from a November 2023 armed robbery by writing that a female suspect had assaulted two people at the restaurant where the robbery took place.
After being instructed by a supervisor to review the surveillance footage from the incident to verify his account, Fitzgerald said he had done so and added more information to the report.
Another detective who later viewed the footage determined the allegations that led to the assault charges against the female were false. Fitzgerald admitted he had not watched the entire footage as instructed, and the assault charges against the suspect were dropped.
According to the decertification agreement, Fitzgerald had previously faced disciplinary action on four occasions since 2015 for missing court dates, not completing required training and showing up to firearms training while intoxicated.
Stoughton Police Deputy Chief Robert Devine
The POST Commission voted last month to decertify Robert Devine, a former Stoughton deputy police chief accused of misconduct involving Sandra Birchmore, MassLive previously reported.
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Birchmore, who was 23 and pregnant, was found dead in her Canton apartment on Feb. 4, 2021. Her death was initially ruled a suicide, but on further investigation, it was ruled a homicide. Former Stoughton Police Officer Matthew Farwell has since been charged federally with killing Birchmore to hide a sexual relationship they began after she joined a police youth program as a teenager.
The commission accused Devine, who oversaw the program, of coordinating a “sexual encounter” with Birchmore while he was on duty in December 2020. He has not been charged criminally in connection with the case and denied the POST Commission’s claims against him.
State lawmakers established the oversight commission in 2020 after the murder of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer.
The nine-member board, appointed by the governor and attorney general, has broad power to set standards that all law enforcement agencies and officers in Massachusetts must abide by and to investigate and decertify police officers accused of misconduct.
Many of the officers it has decertified have been convicted of criminal charges, automatically leading to the loss of their certifications. However, the commission can also decertify officers it finds liable for egregious but noncriminal misconduct.
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The commission reports the names of decertified officers to a national registry, a move intended to alert departments in other states to their troubled histories.
If you are a victim of sexual assault, you are not alone.
Rape Crisis Centers in Massachusetts offer free, confidential services for adolescent and adult survivors as well as their loved ones.
Crisis centers operate a 24/7 toll-free hotline for phone counseling, questions and referrals. For a full list of regional crisis centers, click here.
The child who was injured during a New Year’s Day apartment building fire in Manchester, New Hampshire has died, the New Hampshire State Fire Marshal announced on Saturday.
The 5-year-old girl had been found unresponsive in a fourth-floor bedroom by firefighters. She was rushed to a Boston hospital in critical condition and passed on Wednesday. The Massachusetts Office of the Chief Medical Examiner has performed an autopsy to determine her cause of death.
The fire began just 30 minutes after midnight on Union Street. The flames raged on the third and fourth floors before spreading to the roof. One man was killed in the fire. He was identified as 70-year-old Thomas J. Casey, and his cause of death was determined to be smoke inhalation, according to the medical examiner.
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One woman was rushed to a Boston hospital in critical condition. Five other people received serious injuries and were hospitalized. All the victims have since been discharged, according to the fire marshal.
Residents could be seen waiting in windows and on balconies for firefighters to rescue them.
“I kicked into high gear. I got my family rallied up. My son, my daughter, my wife. And I tried to find a way to get down safely off of one of the railings by trying to slide down one of the poles. But that didn’t work out,” said resident Jonathan Barrett.
Fire investigators believe the fire is not suspicious and started in a third-floor bedroom. The building did not have a sprinkler system but did have an operational fire alarm, the fire marshal said.
Around 10 families were displaced by the fire and are receiving help from the Red Cross. Around 50 people lived in the building.
