The Commission made 25 specific recommendations. Most were never implemented. Here are the key ones:
Recommendation #1: Civilian Oversight
Commission Said: Create independent civilian oversight board for police with subpoena power and ability to investigate complaints.
What Happened: Nothing for 35 years. Philadelphia finally created civilian oversight in 2020—grossly underfunded, minimal powers, routinely ignored by police department.
Recommendation #2: Use of Force Policies
Commission Said: Develop clear policies on use of force, especially explosives, heavy weapons, and operations near civilians.
What Happened: Minimal policy updates. No comprehensive reforms. Police still routinely use military-grade equipment. No specific policy about bombing civilians (apparently they felt one incident was enough).
Recommendation #3: Inter-Agency Coordination
Commission Said: Establish unified command protocols for multi-agency operations; ensure fire, police, emergency management coordinate.
What Happened: Some improvements in protocols, but major coordination failures continue in complex operations. No systematic fix.
Recommendation #4: Accountability for Officials
Commission Said: Hold officials accountable when they violate policy or act negligently; create real consequences.
What Happened: See: every official escaping criminal charges. See: all officials keeping pensions. See: pattern of impunity continuing for 40 years.
Recommendation #5: Compensation for Victims
Commission Said: Adequately compensate victims and families for losses.
What Happened: Civil verdict awarded $1.5 million total—split among multiple families. Many Osage Avenue residents never received adequate compensation for property losses. Some got nothing.
Why Recommendations Matter
Recommendations mean nothing without implementation. Philadelphia took the Commission’s damning findings, said “we accept these,” then ignored almost all suggested reforms.
That’s how you get the same patterns repeating. That’s how you get impunity. That’s how officials learn they can kill with bombs and face no consequences.
What the Commission Didn’t Say (But Should Have)
They Didn’t Call It Murder
Despite finding:
- Deliberate dropping of bomb on occupied house
- Knowledge that children were inside
- Decision to let fire burn
- 11 deaths resulting
The Commission never used the word “murder.” They said “unconscionable,” “gross negligence,” “reckless”—but not “murder.”
Why? Politically impossible. The Commission was appointed by the mayor who approved the bombing. Calling it murder would have required criminal referrals. Instead, they documented everything needed for prosecution—then recommended the district attorney decide about charges.
The DA chose not to prosecute. The grand jury chose not to indict. The cycle protected itself.
They Didn’t Fully Address Racism
The Commission noted MOVE members were Black, noted the neighborhood was Black, noted the mayor was Black—but didn’t deeply analyze whether white officials would have bombed a white neighborhood the same way.
Would police drop bombs on white libertarian survivalists? Would they let fire burn in white middle-class neighborhood? We’ll never know—because they’ve never tried.
The Commission documented facts but avoided the question: was this violence possible specifically because the targets were Black?
They Didn’t Question the Grand Jury System
The Commission found unconscionable acts, gross negligence, reckless endangerment. They documented everything needed for criminal charges.
Then the grand jury said “no indictments” and that was that.
The Commission never questioned whether the grand jury system itself was broken—whether DAs and grand juries are structurally unable to hold police accountable.
Forty years later, we’re still watching DAs fail to indict killer cops. Maybe the Commission should have said: the system itself is the problem.
How to Read the Commission Report
The full report is 500+ pages. Here’s how to navigate it:
Executive Summary (pages 1-15): Start here. Contains all key findings in plain language.
Chronology (pages 16-50): Hour-by-hour timeline of May 13, 1985. Read this to understand sequence of decisions.
Individual Findings (pages 51-300): Detailed analysis of each decision: bomb construction, use of force, fire decision, etc. This is where the evidence is.
Official Responsibility (pages 301-350): Names names. Says who made what decisions and why they were wrong.
Recommendations (pages 351-400): What should change. Most ignored.
Dissents/Addenda (pages 401-500): Some commissioners had additional comments or disagreements. Worth reading for nuance.
Where to Find It:
- Office of Justice Programs Digital Archive
- Philadelphia City Archives (physical copy)
- Various university libraries
- True Signal Media can provide specific sections upon request
Why This Document Matters
The Philadelphia Special Investigation Commission gave us something rare: official documentation of government wrongdoing.
They said it was unconscionable.
They said it was grossly negligent.
They said it was reckless.
They said officials failed in every possible way.
Then nothing happened.
No one went to prison. Most officials kept their jobs and pensions. Recommendations went unimplemented. The grand jury declined to indict.
The Commission report proves something crucial: evidence of wrongdoing isn’t enough. Official condemnation isn’t enough. Documented negligence isn’t enough.
Without will to prosecute, without will to hold officials accountable, without systemic change—all the damning findings in the world mean nothing.
That’s why forty years later, we’re still here. Still demanding accountability. Still asking: if an official commission says it was unconscionable, why is everyone still free?
The Commission did its job. The justice system didn’t.
Truth Has No Borders.
James Theodore Wilson is a Senior Investigative Reporter at True Signal Media focusing on historical accountability.
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