Philadelphia police commissioner slams DA for comments about botched 2019 investigation after officer's death

Philadelphia Police Commissioner Kevin Bethel was about as fired up as we've ever seen him.

Bethel admitted it's been an emotional week, just coming off the funeral of officer Shane Seiber, but he called out District Attorney Larry Krasner in a way he hasn't done before.

Thursday at a news conference about federal charges against 35-year-old Eric Lewis, the man accused of killing Seiber, Bethel was emotional, saying, "I will hold my department accountable when we are wrong, but everybody else should hold them damn selves accountable as well." 

This all stems from a shocking announcement by Krasner days after Seiber was shot. In a YouTube video, Krasner alleged that Eric Lewis was previously acquitted of murder in 2023 because of a flawed investigation by police, including an officer who lied about tips because he was dating Lewis' sister.

For the first time, Bethel responded directly to Krasner's allegations, saying, "In that case, the officer was engaged in his behavior, and I fired him last year. And I would say that young officer did not know this was going to happen. So I mean, I get that. We have to walk through all of it — who did what, and when did they do it? But at the end of the day, we just have to remind ourselves that is not going to bring Shane back, right?"

Bethel also said that if prosecutors don't have an effective case, "they wouldn't even walk in the door with it."

Lewis was charged for the 2019 murder of Christopher Williams in West Philadelphia following a road rage incident. Williams' mother told CBS News Philadelphia the family never understood why Lewis was acquitted and said she found out about the possibility of a flawed investigation from Krasner's YouTube announcement.

Bethel found that announcement and its timing unacceptable.

"I've never seen that in my entire career, where when my family was suffering, when the city was suffering, and it wasn't just about me and the Philadelphia Police Department, the community was suffering, my officers were suffering, and you stand up and you talk about something that is unnecessary," Bethel said at the news conference.

In a statement, Krasner said he supports the federal charges against Lewis and looks forward to working with local, state and federal partners in this case. 

"The Philadelphia District Attorney's Office will continue leading our prosecution with vigor, determination, fairness and transparency. The transparent statement and video released by the Philadelphia District Attorney's Office on Oct. 13, 2026, was intended to correct false information communicated to multiple media outlets by a senior-level law enforcement official who works directly for Police Commissioner Kevin Bethel," Krasner said in the statement in part. 

Krasner said he "will continue to make outreach" to Bethel and Mayor Cherelle Parker "with hopes to work together."

Krasner also said he has been in touch with Roosevelt Poplar, the local Fraternal Order of Police president, about supporting the family and has offered a meeting to share more information.

Last week, Krasner hinted at the possibility of charges for that former police officer who allegedly lied about the 2019 murder case.