Loud screaming in South Philly was test for court case, not person in danger
SOUTH PHILADELPHIA - Did you hear it? That scream – did you hear it?
If you live in South Philadelphia, did you happen to hear the screaming Monday morning? A lot of people in the community want answers about what exactly happened.
People describe the neighborhood on South 15th Street in South Philadelphia as very quiet but on Monday morning it was the exact opposite.
Neighbors sent FOX 29 News video of the alarming screaming they woke up to Monday at around 5 in the morning.
"It scared me and I came running out of the house, my next door neighbor came running out of the house because we really thought it was a woman in need of help," says John Dietsche.
Instead Dietsche and his neighbors quickly realized nobody was in danger and that this was a recording being played on a loudspeaker.
"This went on for a whole hour straight at the high volume. It was an hour long and they would not stop," Dietsche commented.
FOX 29 News learned from the city’s Solicitor’s Office that the screams were actually part of a test, conducted in a civil case for Termaine Hicks.
The Innocence Project, a group that works to free the innocent and prevent wrongful convictions, has Hicks’ story on their website.
They say in 2001 he was accused of rape and after 19 years behind bars, he was exonerated when it was determined he was wrongfully convicted.
City officials say Hicks now has a lawsuit against the City of Philadelphia and Monday morning his legal team was conducting a sound test in the area where he was wrongfully accused of committing a crime.
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"I was really mad because, like I said, I thought somebody was in trouble and needed help. To do this at five o’clock in the morning, in a community area with children, they terrified the children, they terrified the adults," says Dietsche.
The legal firm responsible, Neufeld Scheck Brustin Hoffmann & Freudenberger LLC, out of New York, released a statement apologizing:
"We conducted a test in connection with an important civil rights case and did not intend to cause harm to anybody. We understand why residents are upset, and we want to sincerely apologize to the community, and anybody affected. We feel terrible about the negative impact on the community. We cannot talk with more specificity about the details given ongoing litigation."
The city’s Solicitor’s Office also released a statement saying in part:
"Had the City known that the test would involve the use of simulated screaming sounds, the City would have sought court intervention to prevent the unnecessary disturbance of residents."
Back in South Philly, Dietsche and other residents are still unhappy.
Dietsche says, "It was uncalled for, it was very unethical, very unprofessional, and they could have at least come to the neighbors and asked us could they do this and at a better time, of course."