MOVE Bombing @40

The shocking end to a contentious standoff between police and MOVE, a controversial back-to-nature group, resulted in an aerial bomb dropped by police on 6221 Osage Avenue in Philadelphia on May 13, 1985. A fire ensued, 11 lives were lost, 61 families were displaced, dozens of rowhomes were destroyed by the fire and the soul of the community was shattered.

Forty years ago, the City of Philadelphia used a helicopter to drop a satchel bomb the size of a backpack on a group of residents. For the first time, a helicopter pilot who flew the route ahead of the bombing shares his story. He advised the city that “the bunker’s no threat.” And yet, the city dropped the deadly bomb on May 13, 1985.