Story here. The suspect is still on life support, and will hopefully help save the taxpayers some money and trouble. It’s going to get worse in that city, since the Mayor’s response to the budget crisis is to slash the police force.
In my continued tradition of posting the rap sheets of high profile killers in the City of Brother Love, our suspect in this case is Rasheed Scrugs. His rap sheet can be found here. As usual, this cop killer has a long history of trouble with the criminal justice system that never were properly prosecuted.
Thanks for the link, Sebastian. Another scumbag who should have never gotten a hold of a gun. And yet, Nutter and Ramsey will try to use this murder to make a statement about all gun users – as if the responsible ones are the problem.
I hate this city.
And will demand more laws when they aren’t even using the laws they already have.
Since the murder weapon this time was a .357 Magnum revolver and not a so-called “assault weapon”, I have noticed that the media have been actually focusing on this cop killer’s lengthy rap sheet rather than Pennsylvania’s gun laws. It seems that people being asked for comments on the street by the media are also placing the blame where it belongs – on Philadelphia’s “revolving door” criminal justice system. I did see Mayor Nutter on TV just now saying something about “gun safety” laws though, whatever that means.
Ah yes, the perfect case to call for disarmament. A murderer unafraid of authority, ARMED authority…. Having society disarmed would deter more folks like this.
This remind me of the guy here in my town that beat a woman to death with a rock. 36 prior arrests for a long list of crimes.
The attack came just 10 days after Torok was released from a two-year prison sentence for robbery, his fifth conviction for the crime.
I’m really at a loss for what we need to do. We’ve got the schools using A Clockwork Orange’s rehabilitation program in an attempt to stop this before hand, which just leads to more sheep while the criminals are given positive reinforcement in prison. They learn new tools, new tricks, and get to study the law in order to find loopholes. It’s just F-ing insane.
Sebastian, thanks for providing the rap sheet. It simply MUST be publicized.
This article notes the priors …
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29215707/
“Scrugs, a convicted felon, has nine priors including armed robbery, stolen car and drug arrests, police said.”
The article also quotes son-of-a-bitch Michael Nutter who already seems to be making this into a “lax gun law” issue … rather than the obvious “lax criminal justice system” issue that it is.
Mayor Michael Nutter told NBC10’s Steve Highsmith that there never is an excuse for violent offenders who think they can shoot their way out of an encounter with police officers during NBC10 Live at Issue Sunday. “This is not about violating anyone’s 2nd Amendment rights, but the fact of the matter is, is that Pennsylvania has some of the weakest gun safety regulations anywhere in the United States of America,†he said. “This is about politics and playing politics with other people’s lives.â€
When can the illogic of Michael Nutter be exposed for good?
*fumes*
And rest assured the media will declare the need for more gun laws, even though being a felon and possessing a firearm is illegal.
Hey Sebastian, can you create a special tag for all these guys with the posted rap sheets?
I’d love to be able to link to the list of them so people can realize where the fault lies (judicial system)
(Note – italics and bold font omitted here)
Mayor Michael Nutter 16 February 2009
1501 Market St
Philadelphia, PA 19102
Dear Mayor Nutter:
I am deeply saddened to learn of the murder of Officer John Pawlowski on Friday, 13 February. My heart goes out to Mr. Pawlowski, his family, and the good people of Philadelphia. Knowledge that the perpetrator was seriously wounded and captured offers only a small amount of relief.
I read an article was written by NBCPhiladelphia dot com’s Vince Lattanzio. The article is available here: (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29215707/). Within this article, you were quoted to have said:
Mayor Michael Nutter told NBC10’s Steve Highsmith that there never is an excuse for violent offenders who think they can shoot their way out of an encounter with police officers …. “This is not about violating anyone’s 2nd Amendment rights, but the fact of the matter is, is that Pennsylvania has some of the weakest gun safety regulations anywhere in the United States of America,†he said. “This is about politics and playing politics with other people’s lives.â€
I agree that there is NO excuse for Mr. Scrugg’s behavior. Yet Mayor Nutter, you have the nerve to provide that very excuse for the murderous, convicted felon! You invoked Pennsylvania’s “weak†gun regulations, implying they were a causative factor in this murder. Then you spoke about playing politics. Your statement was purely political … you are playing politics with other people’s lives. Disgusting and unacceptable.
Simply put, Mayor Nutter … how dare you! How dare you point your finger at fundamental and constitutionally-protected civil rights as an excuse for the murderous behavior of one deviant individual? How dare you use our second amendment guarantee to protect and excuse a murderer like Scruggs, a convicted felon with nine prior arrests? How dare you claim that Pennsylvania’s “lax†gun laws excuse this murderer’s behavior, when your own justice system had previously charged him twenty-two times for weapons-related violations? That was 22 times this murderer has broken your existing “lax†gun control laws!
And he was out on the street to murder one of your officers. Why? You have the gall and the nerve to blame fundamental and protected rights of the people for the murder of Officer Pawlowski. Your criminal justice system is woefully broken. Blame lies primarily on the actions and decisions of one individual, Rasheed Scruggs. Secondarily blame lies on your ineffective system to punish and/or reform people like Scruggs.
Your response to this situation, at least to the NBCPhiladelphia media, was injudicious, shameful, and pathetic. Should you continue to pursue more gun control measures without criminal justice reform, you will continue to be an empty suit. Please reconsider your misguided and reprehensible approach.
Sincerely,