PHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvania — Philadelphia's district attorney and its police commissioner are in an open public feud over the case of Eric Lewis, 35, who is charged with fatally shooting Sgt. Shane Seiber and critically injuring Officer Hector Rodriguez III on October 10, PhillyVoice reported.
Source: PhillyVoice, Oct. 24, 2026
At a news conference on Friday, District Attorney Larry Krasner said a member of Police Commissioner Kevin Bethel's "inner circle" had been telling reporters that Lewis was acquitted of murder in 2023 because two attorneys in the DA's office "blew it." Krasner, who did not name the person, called the remarks "character assassination" and said he "had no choice" but to correct what he described as misinformation, according to PhillyVoice and NBC10 Philadelphia. "What was happening was two truly excellent lawyers ... were having their reputations bashed when they had done an excellent job with an extremely flawed investigation," Krasner said. "If you think that ticks me off, it does."
Source: PhillyVoice, Oct. 24, 2026
Lewis was accused in 2019 of fatally shooting Christopher Williams in West Philadelphia after a road-rage dispute, and a judge acquitted him in April 2023. Krasner said a former police officer, Naeem Crawley, who was dating Lewis's sister at the time, falsely claimed he had received an anonymous tip about another suspect, and that the judge recommended Philadelphia police's Office of Internal Affairs investigate. Bethel said on Thursday that Crawley had been terminated from the police force, PhillyVoice reported. The claims about the earlier investigation are Krasner's allegations; no charges arising from that investigation have been announced.
Source: PhillyVoice, Oct. 24, 2026
Krasner said his office is now contemplating criminal charges against at least one and possibly more people connected to the earlier case. Asked why charges were not pursued in 2023, he said his office had been giving Internal Affairs space to investigate and refer the case back, which he said never happened. "The truth is that that acquittal was the direct result of one of the worst investigations that I've seen in my nearly 40 years of criminal practice," Krasner said.
Source: PhillyVoice, Oct. 24, 2026
Bethel had attacked the DA's public comments on Thursday, at a news conference where U.S. Attorney David Metcalf announced federal charges alleging Lewis possessed a stolen firearm and ammunition — charges that carry a maximum life sentence if he is convicted. "I've been at this work for almost 40 years," Bethel said. "Never once have I stood up in front of an audience and talked about my conflicts with the District Attorney's Office." Sgt. Eric Gripp, a police spokesperson, said in a statement on Friday that Bethel stands by his comments and that the department's focus remains on Seiber's family and on Rodriguez and his family. The Fraternal Order of Police Lodge No. 5 called Krasner's remarks "disgraceful" and "poorly timed." Lewis is charged, not convicted, in the October 10 shooting, and is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.
Source: PhillyVoice, Oct. 24, 2026
Seiber, 40, was a 10-year veteran of the force and is survived by his wife and two children, PhillyVoice reported. Rodriguez, 33, a nine-year officer and father of five, remains hospitalized at Penn Presbyterian Medical Center after being shot 12 times, according to a GoFundMe page for his family cited by PhillyVoice. Krasner said he supports the new federal charges against Lewis, said he had texted both Bethel and Mayor Cherelle Parker after the shooting inviting communication "at any time, for any reason," and said he would keep trying to open dialogue between the offices.