DOJ Probes Philly DA as Slain Officer’s Killer Had Prior Murder Acquittal

PHILADELPHIA — Federal prosecutors have issued grand jury subpoenas to District Attorney Larry Krasner’s office, escalating scrutiny of a homicide unit whose “deeply flawed” investigation allowed a man later accused of ambushing two police officers to walk free on murder charges years earlier.

The subpoenas, confirmed by sources familiar with the matter, follow a judge’s formal referral questioning why Eric Lewis, 35, was acquitted in a 2019 killing despite what the court described as substantial evidence. Lewis stands charged with 76 counts, including murder of a law enforcement officer, in the Oct. 10 shooting that killed Officer Shane Seiber, 40, and critically wounded Officer Hector Rodriguez III, 33.

Seiber, a 10-year Philadelphia Police Department veteran and Air Force reservist with two Iraq deployments, was posthumously promoted to sergeant during a funeral Tuesday attended by thousands of officers at the Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul. His partner Rodriguez, a father of five, survived 12 gunshot wounds.

The federal inquiry centers on whether systemic failures in the DA’s homicide division — specifically evidence handling and witness preparation — have created a pattern of avoidable acquittals for violent defendants. Krasner attributed Lewis’s 2019 acquittal to a “deeply flawed” police investigation, but court records show prosecutors declined to introduce available forensic evidence and failed to call key witnesses.

Lewis was arrested after a SWAT standoff in which he allegedly possessed two handguns — one taken from the officers — and a shotgun. He is being held without bail.

The DOJ’s Civil Rights Division and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania are jointly conducting the investigation, according to a person briefed on the matter. The probe marks an unusual federal intervention into local prosecutorial decisions, typically reserved for patterns of constitutional violations.

Mayor Cherelle Parker announced a public service internship program in Seiber’s name during Tuesday’s eulogy, calling him “a giant of a man.” The city also faces mounting questions about whether repeated failures to convict known violent offenders reflect resource gaps, policy choices, or both.

Seiber is survived by his wife Lisa and two children, Finn, 7, and Emily, 3. Rodriguez remains in recovery.