Philly Cop Killer Admits He Targeted Officers Because They Were White

Authored by Steve Watson via Modernity.news,

A Philadelphia city employee with a long rap sheet ambushed police responding to a call, killed one officer and critically wounded another, then told investigators he did it because they were white.

Eric Lewis, 35, a trades helper for the Philadelphia Water Department, walked up behind Officers Shane Seiber and his partner on a West Philadelphia porch early Saturday morning, demanded to know why they were there, and opened fire.

Seiber, a 40-year-old Air Force veteran and father of two, was shot three times and died hours later. His partner, a 33-year-old father of five, was hit 12 times and remains hospitalized. Lewis then fired at nine more officers before hiding in a tree, where SWAT took him into custody. He faces 76 charges including murder and is held without bail.

According to the arrest report obtained by the Philadelphia Inquirer, Lewis stated he shot the officers because they were white. He told a Black female officer at the hospital, “if it was you that responded we would have just had a conversation.”

The report further noted he said, “if the cops were black he would not have shot them,” made racist remarks to white officers, and claimed they “automatically grabbed me” because of their race.

He also said, “I did what I did because they did what they did,” and insisted, “They had guns, so I had every right to defend myself.”

Philadelphia Police Commissioner Kevin Bethel said of Seiber, “He fought valiantly, but he lost his life today.” District Attorney Larry Krasner called the attack a “brutal, senseless, horrific killing.”

Seiber, a 10-year veteran, leaves behind a wife, a 7-year-old son, and a 3-year-old daughter. He had served in the Air Force before joining the force.

Lewis’s criminal history stretches back more than a decade. In 2012 he was convicted of theft and receiving stolen property and sentenced to two years’ probation. In 2013 he faced charges including carrying firearms in public and simple assault; he received up to five years’ probation. In 2018 he pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct involving fighting and again received probation. Krasner noted Lewis had no felony convictions that barred him from possessing a firearm. He has worked for the city since 2024.

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