Pa. parole board fires 3 in case tied to Officer Walker’s murder

Following the murder of Philadelphia police officer Moses Walker, Jr., the Walker family filed a federal lawsuit blaming the Pennsylvania parole board for his death.

NewsWorks spoke with the family’s attorney the day the suit was filed:

The Walkers’ attorney, Michael Barrett, says the man accused of killing Walker, Rafael Jones, should never been on the streets. Jones had failed a drug test and did not have the phone line necessary for his house arrest ankle bracelet to work.

“Rafael Jones did not have a telephonic landline placed at his residence and was not being monitored electronically as of Aug. 18, 2012, when he murdered Officer Walker in cold blood,” Barrett said.

Barrett says parole agent Juan Rodriguez had asked for an arrest warrant, but it was denied. Barrett says if it had been approved, Jones could have been taken into custody before the shooting.

The suit names two women it says denied the arrest warrant request, claiming they neglected the “board’s obligations and or duties with respect to supervising the probation or Rafael Jones.”

Now, less than a month later, three people have been fired from the Pa. parole board. According to the Associated Press, Board Chairman Michael Potteiger said Friday that the employees violated internal rules and procedures in the case of Rafael Jones.