Feds add to state charges in Philadelphia officer’s death

Four men awaiting trial on state charges stemming from the death of a Philadelphia police officer this year are now facing additional federal charges. Federal prosecutors announced an indictment Thursday charging accused gunman Hassan Elliott and three codefendants with murder, drug and gun offenses.

They were charged in the death of Cpl. James O’Connor IV, a 46-yearold member of the SWAT team who was shot in the shoulder, above his bulletproof vest, in a March 13 raid. Two other people inside were wounded by return fire from police.

Elliott, 22, and three co-defendants had been ordered last month to stand trial on related state charges after a preliminary hearing. Elliot had also been charged in a 2019 slaying that brought officers to the house that day.

Police say they were fired upon after announcing they were there to serve a warrant. O’Connor was posthumously promoted to sergeant.

The other men charged in the federal murder case Thursday are Bilal Mitchell, 20, Khalif Sears, 19, and Sherman Easterling, 25. Elliott’s attorney, Walter C. Chisholm, questioned why a second agency was now prosecuting the case.

“It just seems like it’s overkill for the feds to come in,” he told The Philadelphia Inquirer. “I don’t see what that accomplishes.”

U.S. Attorney William McSwain, who said the office may seek to make it a capital case, has long been at odds with Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner, who opposes the death penalty. It’s not clear how long McSwain, an appointee of President Donald Trump, will remain in the job once Presidentelect Joe Biden takes office.

— Elliott’s attorney, Walter C. Chisholm