The Philadelphia Health Commissioner, Dr. Thomas Farley, submitted his resignation on Thursday as an ongoing investigation into the disposal of the remains in the MOVE bomb explosion in 1985.

Unexpected news is the 36th anniversary of the deadly bomb attack in West Philadelphia. dIn the notorious siege of the Black Liberation Organization compound, the police C4 explosives were dropped on the property from a helicopter, destroying dozens of rows of houses and destroying the community of John Africa, the founder of the organization. Eleven people died, including five children.

Mayor Jim Kenney said he learned that Farley was inappropriate on Tuesday afternoon Without notifying the African family, the cremation and disposal of the body of the MOVE victim after taking office was approved. In the decades since the bomb attack, the Philadelphia Medical Examiner’s Office has kept it and attracted the attention of the health department.

Farley, 63, took over as Director of the Philadelphia Department of Health in 2016. The cremation was carried out sometime in 2017 under the direction of Farley. Kenney said that his government didn’t know what happened, but if he was told, things would be different. The time the body was stored in the warehouse.

A full investigation is still ongoing to determine how many victims of the MOVE bomb explosion were cremated in 2017, and other circumstances have led Farley to decide not to consult with surviving relatives. The officials did not say what was done with the cremated remains or where they might be currently.

Farley has been the public face of the city’s response to COVID-19, and has received Kenney’s full support throughout the pandemic, despite the fact that the health department was also affected by the botched vaccine partnership against Philadelphia earlier this year. Strictly reviewed.

Tumar Alexander, the managing director of Philadelphia, said he could not arbitrarily discuss the thought process that Farley followed when he decided to cremate his body. Farley is expected to make a statement later on Thursday. .

Kenny said that the search for new health commissioners across the country will begin immediately. The city does not expect the transition period to have a significant impact on the ongoing COVID-19 vaccination efforts in Philadelphia.

The following is a statement from Mayor Kenny:

“Earlier this week, I was informed that a very disturbing incident occurred during the first term of the Philadelphia Public Health Department. The Health Commissioner, Dr. Thomas Farley, revealed that a few years ago, he learned He was a victim of the MOVE bombing in 1985. He did not fully identify the remains and returned them to his family, but decided to cremate and dispose of them.

“This action lacked sympathy for the victims, their families, and the MOVE bombing has caused deep pain in our city for nearly four decades. As a result, I asked Dr. Farley to resign with immediate effect. In addition, my government has Putting medical examiner Dr. Sam Gulino on “administrative leave” pending a full investigation. Dr. Cheryl Bettigole has been appointed as the Acting Health Specialist, and we will conduct a nationwide search for the remainder of my tenure to fill this position.

“In addition to these administrative decisions, I also want to make sure that the African family learns about this incident directly from me and in front of the general public. Today, I have the opportunity to meet with members of the African family and have a The way and how New York City has treated them in the past five years apologized. I also assure them that the external review of the incident and the handling (or mishandling) of all the remains of each MOVE victim will be completely transparent. The team investigating this incident will include We will make every effort to solve this problem and make MOVE satisfied with the personnel specially approved by the African family.

“Although Dr. Farley publicly accepted the responsibility and resigned, it is imperative to understand my knowledge and actions of others in my administration. In addition to identifying these people, my goal is that this investigation report and final report should Provide a complete picture, which has been lost for too long and brought some comfort and care to the victim’s family. My government has appointed Dechert LLP to conduct this review.

“I can’t imagine what this means, but I also express a formal apology to African families and movement members on behalf of Philadelphia. This is not only for this shameful incident, but also for the government’s repeated administrative failure to do this. 1985 The heinous act of May 13 atonement and continued to humiliate the victims. I apologize for the incredible pain, injury and loss caused by that terrible day.

“Today is 36 years since 11 black Philadelphians (including children) were killed by their own government. We cannot rewrite history, but we pledge to use this latest revelation as an opportunity to greet the victims, their families and everyone. With dignity and respect for the Philadelphians who suffered from the MOVE explosion. We are actively working with local stakeholders in an appropriate and meaningful way to commemorate MOVE, and we will share more of our plans in the coming weeks.”

Tensions escalated to the MOVE bombing out of an armed protest against the imprisonment of 9 MOVE members. All these members were sentenced for the murder of Philadelphia policeman James Ramp in 1978.

The MOVE committee of former Mayor Wilson Goode ultimately considered the incident to be “unreasonable.” A civil lawsuit filed by MOVE survivors resulted in Philadelphia paying $1.5 million to the relatives of the identified victims in 1996. Settlement gold.

Mayor Kenny met with members of the African family on Thursday, and they asked them to seek their own lawyers. The mayor said that this is a decision made by the family to make an announcement on the anniversary.

After both the University of Pennsylvania and Princeton University were discovered, Farley’s role in the disposal of the remains was revealed. Apologies for covering up the bones of an unidentified MOVE bombing victim In the Pennsylvania Museum for decades. In Princeton and Pennsylvania, the remains of these children were used for teaching purposes, where President Amy Gutmann (Amy Gutmann) hired an external investigator to determine how to allow the remains to be “insensitive, not Professional and unacceptable” use.

Kenny said that Payne’s remains and the investigation were separate from the investigation under Farley’s leadership. City officials will not speculate on whether the investigation might prompt information about the cremation of the remains to resurface this week.