The head of Philadelphia's civilian police oversight agency has been charged with selling the identity of a witness in an attempted murder case to a prison inmate who allegedly promised to "blow down" that witness "in broad daylight."
Hassan Bennett, chair of the Philadelphia Citizens Police Oversight Commission, is accused of passing the witness' full name and an unredacted arrest report to inmate Thomas Scott, according to the Philadelphia District Attorney's Office. The case at the center of the scheme involves domestic violence and attempted murder charges. Bennett also holds a position with the Defender Association of Philadelphia.
Investigators monitoring prison phone calls heard Bennett reading details from the arrest report to Scott, prosecutors said in a news release. Scott then requested a copy of the paperwork and offered to pay Bennett $500 for it, officials said.
The documents were ultimately sent to Scott, who distributed them to other people "in order to intimidate the witness in the open case," the district attorney's office said. Scott was also recorded saying he "was searching for the witness' location, that the witness needs to recant his statement," and that "the whole purpose of his social media posts was to prevent the witness from coming to court," according to officials.
The commission Bennett leads was created in the wake of the 2020 protests that followed George Floyd's death. Bennett himself was convicted of second-degree murder in 2008, but he was acquitted at a retrial in 2019 after one of the victims and a co-defendant testified that their earlier statements implicating him had been coerced by a then-homicide detective.
Bennett and Scott each face felony counts of intimidation of a witness or victim, conspiracy, criminal use of a communication facility and bribery.
Sgt. Betsy Brantner Smith, a spokeswoman for the National Police Association, told Fox News Digital the case should serve as a "cautionary tale" for other cities. "When you are given that much access to people's private information, and you are giving that much access to inside information, the city in this case needs to be very sure that he is someone who is ethical," Smith said. "Just because you have had a felony conviction overturned doesn't mean that you have the ethics necessary to handle this sensitive information." She added: "We believe that this entire commission in Philadelphia needs to be looked at, each person individually."
District Attorney Larry Krasner called the allegations "serious" but said they were "not a reflection on the work of the Citizens Police Oversight Commission or the Defender Association of Philadelphia." He added, "I would like to be in a position to say that this defendant had no such involvement, but he did, and the evidence is strong."
In a statement, the commission said Bennett has been placed on leave. "We recognize the seriousness of this matter. We will respect the legal process, refrain from commenting on legal allegations that are under investigation and take appropriate steps to protect confidential information," the statement read. "Our responsibility to the people of Philadelphia remains unchanged. We will continue our work to strengthen police accountability, promote transparency, and build public trust." Fox News Digital reached out to Scott's attorney, and Bennett could not immediately be reached for comment.
