Another Reason to Hate Ze French!!

From the Philadelphia Fishwrapper (I mean,..Daily News):

Posted on Tue, Feb. 15, 2005
Street apologizes Calls widow of cop in wake of 'welcome'
By CHRIS BRENNAN brennac@phillynews.com

Mayor Street yesterday apologized to the widow of Philadelphia Police Officer Daniel Faulkner for the official city greeting and small replica Liberty Bells given Friday to two French politicians in town for a protest in support of Mumia Abu-Jamal. Street, in a private phone call, told her he believes Abu-Jamal murdered her husband in 1981 and was sentenced appropriately, Maureen Faulkner said. Abu-Jamal was sentenced to death in 1982 but a federal judge in 2001 said he should be resentenced to life in prison or receive a new trial. Faulkner is still appalled that Street's staff allowed an impromptu rally for the convicted cop killer to happen in City Hall. "They were here to make their voices very clear to free Mumia Abu-Jamal," Faulkner said. "When that was going on, right then and there, it should have been shut down." Street offered a more qualified apology in public yesterday. "To the extent that anybody misunderstood the actions that were taken here, then we certainly apologize for that," Street said. "Other than that, we're a government that holds itself open to people from all over the world and who have different views." Street's call to Faulkner came after Fraternal Order of Police president Robert Eddis issued a statement saying his union is "outraged" by Friday's meeting. "It is my hope that the mayor will call Mrs. Faulkner and express his disappointment in his representatives for giving them our most prestigious symbol," Eddis said. A city councilman from Paris and a deputy mayor from the suburb of Saint Denis, both members of France's communist party, were originally scheduled for a private meeting with two of Street's top staffers, a typical courtesy for visiting dignitaries. They showed up, however, with about 150 sign-waving protesters who had just marched around City Hall chanting Abu-Jamal's name. Street's staff consulted with the police Civil Affairs Unit and then decided to allow the protesters into the Mayor's reception room, which quickly took on the air of a rally for Abu-Jamal. Leaflets were passed around, exhorting the crowd to "expose the conspiracy to frame-up and murder Mumia!" Mjenzi Traylor, the city's first deputy director of commerce, and Connie Little, the mayor's executive assistant, listened to the politicians as they claimed Abu-Jamal is the victim of "discriminatory and racist justice." Paris made Abu-Jamal an honorary citizen in 2003. Saint Denis plans to name a street for him. The mayor's staff on Friday mistakenly said he had been scheduled to attend the meeting. Street knew about it, staffers said yesterday, but never planned to meet with the Frenchmen. The Liberty Bell replicas, Street said, were not meant as an endorsement of the protest. "I am absolutely certain that the people meant no disrespect for the Faulkner family or the Philadelphia Police Department," Street said. Asked if it was a mistake to schedule the meeting at all, Street responded, "I don't know all the details. I wasn't here."

Note #1 - Yeah, Mayor Street, that's the same excuse you've been giving at every corruption trial involving your administration, too!


Note #2 - The French (specifically, Paris) made Abu Jamal an honorary citizen back in 2003!