Officials suspend evictions in Philly after 3 shootings in 4 months

Officials suspended eviction lockouts in Philadelphia following three reported shootings in the past four months involving a contractor or officers with the city’s landlord-tenant office. 

Hon. Patrick Dugan, the President Judge of Philadelphia Municipal Court, announced Wednesday that Marisa Shuter, the city’s current Landlord Tenant Officer (LTO), agreed to suspend all lockouts immediately, according to Martin O’Rourke, the spokesperson for the First Judicial District. 

In a statement obtained by NBC10, O’Rourke said the suspension will continue “until the Court has been assured that the LTO and all of her employees and contractors have received the most up-to-date training in the use of force and all up-to-date de-escalation procedures.”

The Landlord Tenant Office is a private entity that carries out court orders.

Three shootings in four months

Three reported shootings involving landlord-tenant officers and a contractor serving eviction notices have occurred in Philadelphia so far this year, according to officials. 

On Tuesday, at 4:07 p.m., a court-appointed private contractor hired by a landlord-tenant officer shot a 33-year-old woman in the right leg during an eviction, officials said. 

The woman was taken to the hospital in stable condition while the contractor was taken into custody, police said. Police also recovered a gun, according to investigators. 

While police have not yet revealed what led to the incident, the LTO said Thursday that the woman initially allowed the contractor as well as landlord representatives to come inside her home. She then allegedly attacked the property manager without warning before threatening the contractor with a knife. The LTO said the contractor demanded several times that the woman drop the knife and stop the assault before he pulled out a gun and fired, shooting the woman once in the leg.

While the contractor was taken into custody, he was not charged and the incident remains under investigation.

The Philadelphia Inquirer also reported a deputy landlord-tenant officer fired his gun at a tenant’s dog while trying to enforce an eviction at a home on the 5500 block of North American Street in North Philadelphia on June 28. The dog was not injured during the incident and ran away after the shot was fired, according to the Inquirer. 

On March 29, a landlord-tenant officer shot a woman in the head during an eviction process in Philadelphia’s Fairmount neighborhood, investigators said. 

Reaction from city council

Philadelphia city council members Kendra Brooks (At-Large) and Jamie Gauthier (3rd District) released a statement on Tuesday's shooting. 

“We are heartbroken and angry that a private contractor hired by the landlord-tenant officer shot another tenant during an eviction yesterday. We are relieved that the tenant is in stable condition and wish her a full and speedy recovery,” they wrote. “This afternoon, we asked the Municipal Court to pause landlord-tenant officer operations until we can ensure the basic safety of residents, and we are glad that they agreed to this course of action."

Brooks and Gauthier told the Municipal Court they expect the landlord-tenant office to establish the following policies and guidelines during the eviction pause: 

• Notify tenants of the date and time of evictions 
• Training for conducting evictions, including protocols for discharging firearms, appropriate use of force and de-escalation tactics 
• Public accountability, including a public process to release the names of deputies involved in shootings and investigate conduct when an incident occurs 

"I think that is appropriate," Gauthier told NBC10 on Thursday. "We have no other part of our justice system that is allowed to operate this recklessly, this dangerously and with no accountability to the public."

Brooks and Gauthier said the reforms must be achieved before the eviction pause in Philadelphia is lifted and “must be followed by substantial changes to the policies, practices, and leadership of the landlord-tenant office.”

"Evictions should not become physically violent," Gauthier said. "Evictions are already extremely traumatic. They're destabilizing for people and families."

The council members also called for a written contract between the Municipal Court and the landlord-tenant officer, a plan for providing tenants with city services during a lockout and reforms to the “profit-driven nature of evictions, which incentivizes contractors to evict as many people as possible as quickly as possible.” 

An LTO spokesperson said they support the decision to suspend court-ordered evictions pending the retraining of their eviction officers. The LTO also said they will cover the cost of the training.

A push for more reform

While the suspension of court-ordered evictions in Philadelphia is temporary, members of the Philadelphia House Delegation said on Thursday that their organization is pushing to end the practice of private contractors performing evictions.

Delegation Chair Morgan Cephas is currently organizing upcoming hearings in August about the evictions with state Rep. Mike Starla (D-Lancaster), the chair of the PA House Housing & Community Development Committee.

“The imminent threat of being displaced from home can put anybody into a rage and despair mode. If you add to this scenario people without the proper training, carrying guns to handle evictions, the outcome can be fatal,” Cephas said. "Philadelphia’s landlord-tenant officer has temporarily stopped evictions, but this is a turning point: evictions must be handled by public officials and our delegation will be working to introduce legislation to regulate this process. We are ready to establish policies that would support critical demands in this system, like proper protocol and de-escalations practice to protect the safety and integrity of the tenants."

Pennsylvania State Rep. Rick Krajewski (D-188) said he'll introduce a bill that would eliminate sudden lockouts by notifying tenants in advance while aiming for transparency during the evictions.

“This is the third shooting since March by these security contractors who operate with little transparency and as if they are above the law,” Krajewski said. “Housing should be considered a human right and not regulated with lethal force. We must end this farce of private entities executing evictions in Philadelphia and enact commonsense reforms that allow tenants to be notified in advance and provide clear, transparent accountability to these proceedings."

Resources for those facing evictions

Bob Byrne, executive director of Family Promise of Philadelphia, which works to foster relationships with landlords and tenants, called the recent shooting "a tragedy."

"The causes of things like that are complicated and frankly we'll never understand everything that was happening," Byrne said.

The Office of Homeless Services also has a list of intake centers for those experiencing homelessness as well as assistance for those facing eviction. Anyone in need of eviction prevention assistance may also contact the office at 215-686-7177.