A judge ruled Ryan Pownall should be reinstated into the Philadelphia Police Department after being accused of murdering David Jones in 2017. Now, some protesters of the ruling marched down 51st Street in West Philly to bring attention to the matter. NBC10’s Aaron Baskerville spoke to David’s father Tommy Jones about the new ruling.
A Philadelphia police officer who was accused of fatally shooting a fleeing man in the back will return to the police force a year and a half after a judge dropped murder charges against him.
Ryan Pownall, 42, had been facing a third-degree murder charge in the 2017 on-duty shooting of 30-year-old David Jones.
During a motions hearing in October 2022 however, Judge Barbara A. McDermott said there were “so many things wrong” with how prosecutors instructed grand jurors before they considered the case, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported at the time. She granted a motion from Pownall's attorneys to dismiss the charges.
Jane Roh, a spokeswoman for District Attorney Larry Krasner, said at the time that the ruling was made without prejudice, meaning the office had "several options” to move forward with the case.
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“The District Attorney’s Office strongly disagrees on many levels with the court’s decision today in this matter, and will be reviewing our options in the coming days,” Roh said at the time.
On April 25, 2024, Pownall won an arbitration hearing allowing him to once again be a Philadelphia police officer with full back pay and seniority.
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"As part of Ryan Pownall’s due process rights, his case was presented to a neutral arbitrator where the City of Philadelphia and the Fraternal Order of Police presented their respective cases," Philadelphia Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 5 President Roosevelt Poplar wrote. "The arbitrator ruled in favor of Pownall’s re-instatement to the Philadelphia police department. Pownall will also be entitled to full, back-pay and seniority under the ruling."
The Citizens Police Oversight Commission (CPOC) – which oversees and investigates the conduct, policies and practices of the Philadelphia Police Department – released a statement on the decision.
"The recent arbitration decision to reinstate former Officer Ryan Pownall's reinstatement has sparked frustration within our community and underscores the urgent need for reform within the Philadelphia Police Department (PPD)," a CPOC spokesperson wrote. "As the Citizens Police Oversight Commission (CPOC), it is our fundamental duty to advocate for transparency, accountability, and improved relations between law enforcement and the communities they serve."
Early Monday evening a small group of demonstrators marched down 51st Street in West Philadelphia, bringing attention to the ruling. They’re fighting to keep the officer off the job.
"The arbitrator’s decision to overturn that discipline sends a distressing message to the public about the value placed on black lives and the lack of consequences for excessive use of force," the CPOC spokesperson wrote. "CPOC stands firm in our commitment to holding law enforcement officers accountable for their actions. We believe in the importance of thorough and unbiased investigations into incidents of police misconduct, and we are deeply troubled by any process that appears to prioritize protecting officers over serving justice."
A trial in the case had been delayed multiple times, most recently after Krasner's office sought a clarification from the State Supreme Court on the state law that governs when police shootings are considered justified.
"The family is really, really hurt about that. Nobody even contacted us," Tommy Jones, the father of David Jones, said.
Police said Pownall was transporting a victim to the special victims unit when he saw Jones riding a dirt bike on a city street. Jones’ bike had stalled and he pulled into the parking lot of a night club. Pownall also pulled into the lot, and when he frisked Jones, he said he felt a gun.
Police officials have said that Pownall tried to shoot Jones during the struggle, but that his gun jammed. Jones threw his gun down and fled, and Pownall fired at him, shooting him in the back and killing him. The grand jury that recommended charges said Jones was "no danger to anyone in his flight.”
"I just don’t know how they let somebody back on the force like that. Thought they were there to serve and protect," Tommy said.
Then-Philadelphia Police Commissioner Richard Ross, said during a news conference announcing Pownall’s suspension that Pownall’s first attempt to shoot at Jones was justified under department policy. But Ross said additional shots fired from about 10 feet (3 meters) away — when Jones had clearly dropped the gun and had his back turned — were not.
The city agreed to pay Jones' family $1 million in a settlement agreement in 2018.
"Very hurtful feeling right now. I can’t even explain it. I can’t even explain it. Terrible, it feels like a slap to the face that they decided to give him his job and everything back," Tommy said.
According to police records, it was the second time Pownall was involved in an on-duty shooting where a suspect was struck in the back. Carnell Williams-Carney was paralyzed in 2010 after Pownall and a second officer fired shots at him as he fled, hitting him once in the back. A federal jury ruled in a lawsuit that Pownall and the other officer were justified in opening fire.
