June 7–14, 2001

news

Single Bullet

Did a lone gunman spark the 1978 MOVE melee?

by Walidah Imarisha

A picturesque West Philadelphia bed-and-breakfast is the local version of the "grassy knoll," according to activists who claim they have proof that shots fired from that building 23 years ago set off a series of events that ultimately led to the 1985 MOVE bombing.

The Friends of MOVE — supporters of the Philly-based naturalist organization — are alleging that the initial shot in the 1978 conflict between police and the group’s members did not come from either party. Instead, in court documents they plan to file, FOM members say they will prove that the shot came from a gunman firing from a second-story window at 3300 Baring St., up the block from 309 N. 33rd St., occupied by MOVE.

A year-long standoff between police and MOVE members culminated on Aug. 8, 1978. The day began with police cordoning off the entire neighborhood. By the end of the day, hundreds of police officers shot rounds of ammunition into the basement of the house, where MOVE members had retreated. Officers allege that they were responding to gunshots from inside the house. When the dust cleared, several police officers and firefighters had been shot, including police officer James Ramp, who was killed.

Nine MOVE members were later convicted for his death. During the trial, KYW News Radio reporters Richard Maloney and Larry Rosen testified that they and other members of the media were crouching behind a garage adjacent to 3300 Baring. Maloney and Rosen testified they heard a male voice yell out, "Kill the motherfucker!" immediately followed by the opening gunshot. Several police officers and firefighters also testified during the MOVE trial that they saw a gun muzzle sticking out of a window in 3300 Baring, and gunfire coming from that same direction.

Several bullet holes were, in fact, found in the house. But at the trial, Assistant District Attorney Wilhelm Knauer argued that the holes were caused by incoming shots from MOVE. This, Friends of MOVE says, conflicts with the information given by Detective Albert Paris. Reading from a police search warrant during the trial, Paris stated that an "external examination of those holes… indicated that… the gun that made these holes was fired from inside of 3300 Baring St."

In addition, Friends of MOVE spokesperson Bob Massey says the bullets that came from outside the house could not have originated from MOVE. Geometric calculations used to calculate the trajectory of the shots — based on the police measurements — prove that, he says.

"The geometry is actually very simple," Massey says. "It’s like 10th-grade math."

Massey and Friends of MOVE allege that police fired into the Baring house in response to an unknown shooter.

The million-dollar question is, who was this alleged mystery shooter?

Police arrested Larry Manning and two women on the property. Manning, the nephew of the home’s owners, lived on the home’s third floor. Manning claimed he was never on the second floor of the house that fateful day, but a statement from Civil Affairs Officer George Bundy says he saw Manning in a second-floor window.

Friends of MOVE are attempting to draw attention to another discrepancy, as well. The group claims that the two women at 3300 Baring and all MOVE members were tested to find out if they had recently fired a weapon. The lab report contains lists of samples for everyone — except Manning.

"A police officer is killed and several other government agents are wounded… why wouldn’t you test the man?" Massey asks.

But why would Manning involve himself in this deadly confrontation?

"He lived on the block, and this siege by the police on MOVE had been going on for an entire year," Massey says. "He had to go through checkpoints every day to go home. The best theory is that he got frustrated by the situation and just snapped."

Manning can’t tell his side of the story, as he died in the late 1980s.

The Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office refused comment.

Massey believes Manning was never investigated because the police and the District Attorney were interested in targeting MOVE. "They stopped the paper trail and didn’t do any more investigation because that information wasn’t going to help them imprison MOVE people."

If the 1978 siege hadn’t escalated to such a level, Massey says, perhaps police never would have bombed MOVE’s headquarters on May 13, 1985. That fire killed 11 people and burned 61 neighboring homes.

Friends of MOVE hope their investigation will lead to a post-conviction relief appeal. That would significantly impact current MOVE convictions for the death of Officer Ramp, Massey says.

"The sentence for third degree murder is 10 to 20 years," says Massey. "If MOVE had killed Ramp, they would have been out by now. We’re stressing that these people don’t belong in prison. Ramp is a moot point, because the maximum sentence is over, so arguing whether they killed him or not is irrelevant. The police cause the confrontation at every step of the way, the police and the city as a whole are responsible for Ramp’s death. That is just reinforced by the fact that they covered up the first shot."