By Daily Mail (U.S.) | Created at 2024-09-27 00:45:10 | Updated at 2024-09-30 15:38:05
3 days ago
Fake screams were blasted from a speaker in a South Philadelphia neighborhood as part of a test for a civil case against the city - a controversial move that woke up residents and left them terrified.
Locals were awoken by a series of loud shrieks that echoed through the area early Monday morning.
Unaware that the screams were part of a test, the residents were filled with panic and dread.
'It was so upsetting, like very loud shrieking screams,' Rachel Robbins, a South Philadelphia resident, told WPVI.
Fake screams were blasted from a speaker in a South Philadelphia neighborhood as part of a test for a civil case against the city
Resident Allison Sacks (left) called the scream 'blood-curdling.' Rachel Robbins, a neighbor, called the event 'so upsetting'
'It was this blood-curdling scream,' Allison Sacks, a neighbor, added.
Sacks then noted that there was a series of 'four or five' screams. She said that the event lasted 'a good hour.'
According to the city solicitor's office, the shrieks were part of a sound test in the civil case of Termaine Hicks.
In 2001, Hicks was convicted of rape at 15th and Mifflin streets.
For the crime, he served 19 years until a judge vacated his conviction in compliance with a request from the Philadelphia District Attorney's Office in 2020.
In 2001, Hicks was convicted of rape at 15th and Mifflin streets. DNA evidence later exonerated him
DNA evidence had revealed that Hicks was not the rapist and questions abounded as to whether or not the evidence had been planted.
'I feel for the plaintiff in this case,' Sacks said. 'I think there are other ways to prove the case.'
The resident directed her frustration at the attorney who requested the test. Sacks said that she was upset that the lawyer did not 'take into consideration the impact it would have.'
Robbins observed that 'there is such a long list of reasons it's unethical.'
Upon receiving complaints from Robbins and other residents, the federal judge overseeing the case demanded an explanation.
Early Monday morning, locals were awoken by a series of loud shrieks that echoed through the area
'I feel for the plaintiff in this case,' Sacks said
He ordered the plaintiff's attorneys to demonstrate why they needed to conduct the scream test and why they should not be obligated to apologize to people in the neighborhood.
In an official statement to Action News, Philadelphia's solicitor's office - who had an attorney present for the sound test - said that they would have sought a court order to prevent it if they had known it would involve fake screams.
The statement added that the city 'had limited control over and advanced knowledge of the conditions of the testing.'
It further noted that when the 'city attorneys became aware of the use of simulated screaming sounds,' they did not 'intervene because a necessary court order would not have been able to be obtained at the early morning hour.'
Neufeld Scheck Brustin Hoffman & Freudenberger, LLP, the New York law firm representing Hicks, released a statement apologizing to residents.
In an official statement to Action News , Philadelphia's solicitor's office- who had an attorney present for the sound test- said that they would have sought a court order to prevent it if they had known it would involve fake screams
'We conducted a test in connection with an important civil rights case and did not intend to cause harm to anybody,' the statement explained.
'We understand why residents are upset, and we want to sincerely apologize to the community, and anybody affected.'
They continued: 'We feel terrible about the negative impact on the community.'
But the law firm refrained from disclosing any further information about the test.
'We cannot talk with more specificity about the details given ongoing litigation,' the statement concluded.
