1985 — May 13, Police Bomb MOVE,[1] Row House Fire, Philadelphia PA — 11
–11 Assefa and Wahrhaftig. The MOVE Crisis in Philadelphia. 1990, p. 3.
–11 Demby. “Why Have So Many People Never Heard of the MOVE Bombing?” 5-18-2015.
–11 NFPA. The U.S. Fire Problem. Home Fires with Ten or More Fatalities (1980-2007). 2008.
–11 Philadelphia Inquirer. “Recent Fire Falls Short of the City’s Deadliest,” Dec 28, 2008.
Narrative Information
Assefa and Wahrhaftig: “….on May 13, 1985, the assault on MOVE’s Osage Avenue headquarters began. Police shot 10,000 rounds of ammunition in a 90-minute period from automatic weapons, machine guns, and antitank guns. Finally they dropped a bomb from a helicopter, starting a fire that incinerated five MOVE members and six children. Sixty-one homes lay in smoldering ruins, about 110 houses were damaged, and 250 people were left homeless…. [p. 3.]
“This book emphasizes negotiation and mediation, though other conflict resolution mechanisms were used as well. We contend that negotiation and mediation are the most viable methods available to contain, if not resolve, this kind of conflict. Adjudication is ineffective particularly if one party does not recognize the rules of the process to be fair and just. The win-lose approach of court litigation seldom address the root causes of the conflict. The use of force may not be effective either, since the underlying problems behind the conflict remain unresolved. Coerced solutions usually contain the seeds of future tension….” [p. 5.] (Assefa and Wahrhaftig. The MOVE Crisis in Philadelphia. 1990, p. 3)
Demby: “After my stories last week on the 30th anniversary of the MOVE siege in West Philadelphia in 1985, in which Philadelphia police dropped a bomb on a residential neighborhood, leaving 11 dead — including five children — we were surprised by how many people told us they’d never heard of the bombing….
“It’s seems incredible that so many people had never heard about the time American law enforcement bombed U.S. citizens on U.S. soil, which, on top of the deaths, left dozens of bystanders’ homes destroyed in an uncontrolled fire that the police commissioner told firefighters not to put out right away. The details are so extreme, so over-the-top. How have we forgotten this?…. In the universe of violent fringe movements that ended in deadly mayhem, MOVE occupies a lonely branch. To some degree, maybe this helps explain why the story of MOVE isn’t better known: If few people feel like your ideological kin, few people feel cause to carry your torch….
“…technology has changed everything in the decades since May 13, 1985. If the MOVE bombing were to happen today, bystanders would be furiously uploading videos to YouTube, spawning Twitter hashtags and interconnected protests in cities around the country. CNN would be camped out in West Philly for weeks, to say nothing of the countless think-pieces….” (Demby. “Why Have So Many People Never Heard of the MOVE Bombing?” NPR, 5-18-2015.)
Newspapers
May 14, UPI: “PHILADELPHIA (UPI) – An inner-city row-house neighborhood lay in smoldering ruins today after police, weary of a daylong siege punctuated by gunfights, bombed the headquarters of a radical back-to-nature group that killed a policeman seven years ago….
“The concussion-like bomb, dropped Monday from a police helicopter, smashed through a crude wood-and-steel battlement atop the house and caved in the roof. A fire, fanned by hot winds, spread to as many as 60 surrounding structures, and gunfire from within the building kept firefighters from dousing the swirling flame s for about an hour. Fire Commissioner William Richmond said.
“Firefighters early today hosed down the rubble, and police waited to search the demolished headquarters of the group — called MOVE — for secret escape tunnels….
“Police Sgt. Charles Bloom, surveying the grim scene before dawn today, commented, “It’s going to take a few days to figure all this out.” He shook his head. “It looks like a World War II movie with all the buildings gutted out”.”….
“Police had been trying to evict the MOVE members because of neighbors’ complaints that their house was filthy and rat-infested, posing a health hazard. Officers also had arrest warrants for four members of MOVE for allegedly harassing and beating neighbors.
“Monday’s Shootout was the second in seven years between police and MOVE , founded in 1972 as a back-to-nature group by a man who called himself John Africa. On Aug. 8, 1978 a policeman was killed when officers tried to evict MOVE members from a Philadelphia house because of similar complaints about bad sanitation.
“Goode said police bombed the building even though they believed at least one child was in the house because “there’s no way you could avoid it. I don’t believe there is any way to extradite them without an armed confrontation”. The mayor had said previously he was convinced MOVE wanted violence and was not interested in negotiations. “There may have been some young people that lost their lives,’ he said…. Goode guessed Monday night no more than four adults and one child were in the house at the time of the bombing….
“Nearby stood Janice Walker, tears in her eyes, watching her home consumed by flames. “My family had all its dreams, all of its” aspirations, tied up in that house.” she said. She said the residents had hoped for a peaceful settlement, “so we could live like normal people.” “There was no need to destroy an entire neighborhood,” she said. “The fire was not necessary.” “It’s tragic, absolutely tragic,” said the Rev. Joseph Meehan, a Roman Catholic priest, as he helped an elderly man away from the fire scene.
“Many of the crowd that gathered at the police barricades to watch the fire were angry. “It is ridiculous. Why did they have to burn down the whole block,” said one man who declined to give his name. Another, who called himself only Aba, 39, said, “They didn’t bring a solution to the problem. They inflamed the problem, by using these kinds of weapons”.” (Daily News (Huntingdon, PA). “Philadelphia Police Burn City Block,” May 14, 1985, p. 1.)
May 14, Indiana Gazette: “On Monday morning, the group refused to leave, demanding instead that nine members imprisoned for a 1978 Shootout that left a police officer dead be released from prison. A 90-minute gunbattle erupted after MOVE’S refusal, and police used tear gas and water cannon in an attempt to flush the members from the building. The front of the building was torn open under the pressure of the deluge. The row house remained under siege with periodic exchanges of gunfire until 5:27 p.m. Monday, when a state police helicopter dropped a bomb on the rooftop bunker.” (Indiana Gazette. “Fire Destroys 60 Homes in Philly After Assault on Radicals’ House,” May 14, 1985, p. 1.)
May 14, Syracuse Herald-Journal: “….The fire was started by police Monday evening when an officer tossed a small bomb from a helicopter onto the house where the radicals were living. Firefighters stood by when the bomb blew up and lit the roof on fire. Witnesses said the firefighters put off fighting the fire in hopes of flushing the radicals out.
“But the blaze spread as thousands of residents watched in stunned disbelief that slowly changed to” horror. The fire methodically spread to many dozens of houses nearby, and at least 60 houses
were leveled. Officials believed that all the houses except for the one held by MOVE had been evacuated. Many of those who houses were burning stood behind barricades and shouted: “Murder! Murder! Arson! Arson!”.” (Syracuse Herald-Journal (NY). “When the Radicals Wouldn’t Move, Police Dropped a Bomb,” May 14, 1985, p. 1.)
Dec 28, 2008: “Eleven died in the May 13, 1985, inferno that destroyed 61 houses in the 6200 block of Osage Avenue in West Philadelphia when a police helicopter dropped explosives on the roof of a house where members of the radical group MOVE were holed up.” (Philadelphia Inquirer. “Recent Fire Falls Short of the City’s Deadliest.” 12-28-2008.)
Sources
Assefa, Hizkias and Paul Wahrhaftig. The MOVE Crisis in Philadelphia: Extremist Groups and Conflict Resolution. University of Pittsburgh Press, 1990. Google digital preview accessed 1-25-2017 at: https://books.google.com/books?id=fC0j68EZgxQC&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false
Daily News, Huntingdon, PA. “Philadelphia Police Burn City Block,” 5-14-1985, p. 1. Accessed at: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=105546779
Demby, Gene. “Why Have So Many People Never Heard of the MOVE Bombing?” NPR, 5-18-2015. Accessed 1-25-2017 at: http://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2015/05/18/407665820/why-did-we-forget-the-move-bombing
Indiana Gazette, Indiana, PA. “Fire Destroys 60 Homes in Philly After Assault on Radicals’ House,” 5-14-1985, 1. At: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=112455328
National Fire Protection Association. The U.S. Fire Problem. “Home Fires with Ten or More Fatalities (1980-2007).” Quincy, MA: NFPA, April 2008 update. Accessed at: http://www.nfpa.org:80/itemDetail.asp?categoryID=953&itemID=30981&URL=Research%20&%20Reports/Fire%20statistics/The%20U.S.%20fire%20problem
Philadelphia Inquirer. “Recent Fire Falls Short of the City’s Deadliest.” 12-28-2008. Accessed at: http://www.philly.com/inquirer/world_us/36793314.html
Syracuse Herald-Journal, NY. “When the Radicals Wouldn’t Move, Police Dropped a Bomb,” 5-14-1985, p. 1. At: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=44110139
[1] Short for “The Movement.” (Assefa and Wahrhaftig 1990, p. 9.)