Philadelphia pauses evictions carried out by landlord tenant officers after shooting incidents
PHILADELPHIA - Philadelphia's court appointed landlord tenant office will pause carrying out evictions to retrain its staff in use of force and de-escalation practices after recent shootings during evictions.
Investigators say a 33-year-old woman was shot in the leg by a court appointed contractor during an eviction Tuesday afternoon at the Grace Townhomes Apartments in Kensington.
A spokesperson for the Landlord Tenant Office told FOX 29 the woman assaulted the property manager and repeatedly refused to drop a knife, threatening the deputy before she was shot.
The woman was taken to the hospital in stable condition, and police say they are investigating the shooting. This was reportedly the third shooting of its kind in the past four months.
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"With three shootings over a four-month period they have proven they do not have the capacity right now to conduct evictions safely," Councilwoman Jamie Gauthier said.
In March, a landlord tenant deputy shot a 35-year-old woman in the head during an eviction in North Philadelphia. Another officer shot at a dog during another recent eviction, but missed.
These incidents prompted the President Judge of Philadelphia's Municipal Court to pause all "lockouts" or evictions until landlord tenant staff receive up-to-date training on use of force and de-escalation procedures.
Instead, Philadelphia Sheriffs will continue with enforcing evictions. Some believe the training, paired with understanding and empathy, will cultivate safer eviction situations.
"More training, for sure, lots of times people are more forgeable than they have to be," Brock Baxter from Kensington said. "It sometimes works to be more sympathetic."
Officials expect the moratorium on evictions by landlord tenant officers to last approximately 30 days.