Philadelphia police host first Summer Night Lights event in hopes of supporting community, preventing violence
The effort, known as Summer Night Lights, follows several violent incidents near rec centers this summer, including a shooting that left five people injured, including two children, last week at Christy Rec Center in West Philadelphia. One teen has been charged in connection with the shooting, but the investigation is ongoing, police said.
The pilot program will bring evening programming, mentorship and environmental improvements to help reduce violence. Summer Night Lights has been in the works for some time in partnership with Commissioner Kevin Bethel's 100-Day Plan and Mayor Cherelle Parker's Prevention, Intervention and Enforcement Strategy, 22nd District Captain Michael Goodson said.
"Our hope is what we hope to be our reality, and that's that people know there is an alternative to violence, and more importantly, that people see their value," Goodson said.
The night featured food, music and new rec center activities to bring local officers, kids and families together.
The Summer Night Lights pilot program will run for five nights a week for five weeks at two rec centers. The goal is to help make an impact in some of the most vulnerable parts of Philadelphia.
"This is Winchester, and the other is going to be Penrose, so as of tomorrow they will be running simultaneously and why — we talk about bringing the services in the areas that historically are vulnerable this is a great great community and what better way to change the whole dichotomy of everything bring the services here," Goodson said.
For Alexis Monroe, who grew up playing on the Winchester playground, support from the city to help keep her family safe matters.
"I feel like my kids are safe, I know that they can play ... I can sit down at the nice little cool, shade part, and they can go play, so it feels good," Monroe said.
Officials said their goal is to expand Summer Night Lights next year if the program is successful.
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CBS News
6 hours ago
- CBS News
Philadelphia police host first Summer Night Lights event in hopes of supporting community, preventing violence
Philadelphia Police and community partners on Monday hosted the first night of a public safety and community-building initiative at Winchester Rec Center in North Philadelphia. The effort, known as Summer Night Lights, follows several violent incidents near rec centers this summer, including a shooting that left five people injured, including two children, last week at Christy Rec Center in West Philadelphia. One teen has been charged in connection with the shooting, but the investigation is ongoing, police said. The pilot program will bring evening programming, mentorship and environmental improvements to help reduce violence. Summer Night Lights has been in the works for some time in partnership with Commissioner Kevin Bethel's 100-Day Plan and Mayor Cherelle Parker's Prevention, Intervention and Enforcement Strategy, 22nd District Captain Michael Goodson said. "Our hope is what we hope to be our reality, and that's that people know there is an alternative to violence, and more importantly, that people see their value," Goodson said. The night featured food, music and new rec center activities to bring local officers, kids and families together. The Summer Night Lights pilot program will run for five nights a week for five weeks at two rec centers. The goal is to help make an impact in some of the most vulnerable parts of Philadelphia. "This is Winchester, and the other is going to be Penrose, so as of tomorrow they will be running simultaneously and why — we talk about bringing the services in the areas that historically are vulnerable this is a great great community and what better way to change the whole dichotomy of everything bring the services here," Goodson said. For Alexis Monroe, who grew up playing on the Winchester playground, support from the city to help keep her family safe matters. "I feel like my kids are safe, I know that they can play ... I can sit down at the nice little cool, shade part, and they can go play, so it feels good," Monroe said. Officials said their goal is to expand Summer Night Lights next year if the program is successful.
Fox News
10 hours ago
- Fox News
EXCLUSIVE: Ramaswamy decries ‘anti-law enforcement culture' in wake of brutal Cincinnati beating
A viral video showing several people being brutally beaten in downtown Cincinnati has Vivek Ramaswamy decrying a pervasive "anti-law enforcement culture" in American society. The former 2024 presidential hopeful and Ohio Republican gubernatorial candidate spoke with Fox News Digital in an exclusive interview on Monday evening ahead of a Cincinnati town hall event addressing combating violence, saying that he believes the Cincinnati beating "catalyzed a conversation in our state and frankly across the country about this issue of violent crime in the cities of the United States of America." He called the beating of Holly, a woman in their video who apparently was attempting to intervene to help another victim, "totally unconscionable." In the video, a group of people can be seen pummeling two victims, one of whom, a woman later identified as Holly, ended up with "very bad brain trauma." The incident occurred in the early morning hours of July 26 on the corner of Fourth and Elm Streets, outside a popular nightclub. Ramaswamy shared that he has been in contact with Holly after first reaching out to her to check in on her well-being after the beating. He previously revealed Holly told him that no local elected officials reach out to her after the incident. "One of the reasons I wanted to reach out was just to see if we could help … but also to hear her perspective on the front lines of what she wants to see come out of this," he explained. "The fact of the matter is she, and victims like her, want to make sure that violent crime like this doesn't spread, that we're able to use what was a tragedy, and it was a travesty what happened in Cincinnati, to be able to adopt policies that actually stop this reckless crime in our cities, stop the wave of violent crime in cities." Another angle of the fight shows a victim being beaten in the middle of the street and yelling racial slurs. Some claim the male victim slapped one of the perpetrators before the fight, sparking the beatdown. Cincinnati Police Chief Teresa Theetge said in a press conference that there are a total of six victims. Six people have been charged with crimes, and four have been arrested. The city's fugitive task force is searching for the two suspects who are still at large. Theetge said that out of the approximately 100 people who witnessed the incident or were involved in the brawl, only one individual called law enforcement. Jermaine Matthews, 39, Dominique Kittle, 37, Montianez Merriweather, 34, and Dekyra Vernon, 24, were arrested for their alleged involvement in the fight. He said the U.S. should be a place "where Americans can actually feel just safe to go into their cities, have a good night without fear of getting beaten up or assaulted." "I don't think that's too much to ask in the greatest nation known to the history of mankind. I don't think it's too to ask in Cincinnati, Ohio," he said. Regarding the vast majority of bystanders not intervening during the beating, Ramaswamy commented, "It is sad to see the anti-law enforcement culture, the anti-rule of law culture spread across our country." "I think there are deeper issues relating to just people being agnostic to the rule of the law, people being desensitized to this kind of violence," he went on, adding, "At our best as human beings, that's not who we are. We feel compassion when something like this happens. Ignoring it is not compassion. Ignoring is cruelty." He called for more "open dialogue" rather than "sweeping these issues under the rug." He said that some have criticized him for calling attention to the beating, saying "some of them make it seem like the bigger crime than the assault was actually noticing it." "I don't think that's the case. I think that actually the way we're going to bring people together is through what we're doing tonight. Open dialogue, open discussion," he explained.
CBS News
11 hours ago
- CBS News
Pittsburgh-area man and girlfriend accused of abusing 5-year-old boy, locking him in basement
A man and his girlfriend are charged with what Monessen police are calling a disturbing case of child abuse. Katherine Secleter wishes she could have stopped what led police to her street on Monday morning. Her neighbors, 35-year-old Colleen Cassidy and 29-year-old Charles Smitley V, were taken into custody. "They seemed polite. They were a little standoffish, but like new people usually are," Secleter said. However, she and others told KDKA they never even knew children were living with them at their home, which they moved into in the fall. "What a life that they're living, a trauma, a nightmare," Secleter said. Monessen Police Lt. Aaron Thompson said the department was first alerted in April by Pennsylvania State Police troopers in Uniontown after Smitley's father brought his 5-year-old grandson to the hospital for bruising. Court records said he recently gained custody from Smitley, who said "he no longer [wanted] to care for the child." From October until that time, the child had been living with Smitley, Cassidy and Cassidy's 11-year-old son. When the grandfather took the child in, the child was dirty and "had a foul odor," according to court documents. On a trip to McDonald's, the boy was only interested in eating, "complained about his stomach hurting and was observed to be walking in pain," court records said. After washing him in a bathtub, his grandfather allegedly found several bruises on the boy's legs and butt. "They saw the extent of the injuries, and that's when they immediately took him to Uniontown Hospital," Thompson said. Officials said the child was then transported to West Virginia University Ruby Memorial Hospital, where a nurse shared with police that the child "appeared to be emaciated." They also said the child told them Cassidy and his dad "had spanked him with a white paddle… every day" and that they made him eat his own waste. "He revealed that he was forced to eat feces, that he was not being fed properly, that he had been tied down in a chair previously by his father's girlfriend," Thompson said. Investigators describe that the boy said the two of them would lock him in the basement bathroom to sleep "with no blankets or padding," and Cassidy's 11-year-old told police he found the child "in a closet with his hands taped together with duct tape." The 11-year-old said he was never hurt. Thompson said since the children were removed from the home, they're doing well. "My heart celebrates that bad people are off the street, but it aches for those kids," Secleter said. Cassidy and Smitley remain in Westmoreland County Jail on $100,000 and $250,000 bail, respectively. Their preliminary hearings are set for Aug. 22.
