On May 13, 1985, Philadelphia police dropped a satchel of military explosives from a helicopter onto a row house at 6221 Osage Avenue occupied by members of MOVE, a Black revolutionary group. The explosion started a fire that officials chose to let burn. Eleven people died, including five children, and 61 homes on the block were destroyed. No city official or police officer was ever criminally charged. What follows is what the 1985 Philadelphia MOVE bombing involved, what investigators found, and what has and has not been done about it in the four decades since.
Who MOVE Was and Why Police Were on Osage Avenue
MOVE was founded in 1972 by Vincent Leaphart, a Philadelphia native and Korean War veteran who took the name John Africa.1Encyclopedia of Greater Philadelphia. MOVE The group blended Black nationalism with a back-to-nature philosophy, rejected modern technology and medicine, lived communally, and adopted the surname Africa. Members staged confrontational demonstrations against police brutality, zoos, and pet stores, often broadcasting through bullhorns for hours. They were not pacifists, and believed in fighting back if attacked by police.2PBS NewsHour. The Largely Forgotten History of Philadelphia’s Police Bombing of Black Organization MOVE
The group’s relationship with the city turned violent on August 8, 1978, when Mayor Frank Rizzo ordered police to clear MOVE’s Powelton Village headquarters. In the shootout that followed, Officer James J. Ramp was killed; MOVE has long maintained he was killed by friendly fire.2PBS NewsHour. The Largely Forgotten History of Philadelphia’s Police Bombing of Black Organization MOVE Nine members, who became known as the MOVE 9, were convicted of third-degree murder and each sentenced to 30 to 100 years in prison.1Encyclopedia of Greater Philadelphia. MOVE
In 1982, MOVE members who had avoided incarceration relocated to the row house at 6221 Osage Avenue in Cobbs Creek. They fortified the property, built an armed bunker on the roof, and resumed bullhorn broadcasts, drawing complaints from neighbors and renewed pressure on city officials.3Collaborative History. MOVE
What Happened on May 13, 1985
Mayor W. Wilson Goode authorized police to execute arrest warrants on MOVE members at the Osage Avenue house. The block was evacuated the night before. At 6 a.m. on May 13, Police Commissioner Gregore Sambor broadcast an ultimatum to surrender.4Collaborative History. MOVE and Osage Avenue Nearly 500 officers in SWAT gear surrounded the property, equipped with heavy weaponry that included an anti-tank machine gun.5Zinn Education Project. MOVE Bombing
When MOVE refused to come out, a daylong gun battle began. Police fired more than 10,000 rounds at the house in under 90 minutes.4Collaborative History. MOVE and Osage Avenue They pumped water into the basement, deployed tear gas, and tried to blast through the walls of adjoining homes.5Zinn Education Project. MOVE Bombing None of it dislodged the occupants.
In the early evening, city officials decided to attack the rooftop bunker from the air. A satchel charge weighing roughly 25 to 30 pounds, containing a combination of C-4 military plastic explosives and the water-gel explosive Tovex, was assembled.6WHYY. MOVE Bombing Philadelphia Helicopter Pilot Warning Lieutenant Frank Powell, chief of the police bomb disposal squad, boarded a Pennsylvania State Police helicopter, lit a 45-second fuse, and dropped the device onto the roof at 5:27 p.m.7The Guardian. MOVE 1985 Bombing Reconciliation Philadelphia
A private helicopter pilot named Mark Ciccone, enlisted earlier for aerial surveillance, had explicitly warned city leaders against the bombing. He told them the bunker posed no tactical threat and that dropping a bomb was unnecessary. His warning was disregarded.6WHYY. MOVE Bombing Philadelphia Helicopter Pilot Warning
The explosion ignited gasoline vapors on the roof. Rather than fight the fire, Commissioner Sambor and Fire Commissioner William C. Richmond decided to let it burn as a “tactical weapon” to destroy the bunker and force the occupants out.4Collaborative History. MOVE and Osage Avenue By 6:32 p.m., the fire was out of control. By dawn, it had destroyed 61 homes on the 6200 block of Osage Avenue and surrounding streets, leaving more than 250 people homeless.8Britannica. MOVE Bombing
Who Died and Who Survived
Eleven of the thirteen people inside the house were killed: six adults and five children. The dead included MOVE founder John Africa and the adults Conrad, Raymond, Frank, Rhonda, and Theresa Africa. The children were Netta Africa (12), Tree Africa (14), Phil Africa (11), Delisha Africa (12), and Tomaso Africa (9).9Philadelphia City Council. MOVE Resolution
Only two people escaped: Ramona Africa, an adult member, and 13-year-old Birdie Africa, born Michael Moses Ward.1Encyclopedia of Greater Philadelphia. MOVE Ramona Africa suffered severe burns. After her later release from prison, she remained an active MOVE spokesperson and, as of 2025, continues to live in Philadelphia at age 69.106abc. 40 Years After MOVE Bombing in Philadelphia’s Cobbs Creek Section Birdie Africa was placed with his father, took the name Michael Moses Ward, and later served in the U.S. Army. In September 2013, at age 41, he was found unconscious in a hot tub aboard the cruise ship Carnival Dream. The Brevard County, Florida, medical examiner ruled the death a drowning caused by acute alcohol intoxication; his blood alcohol level was 0.156.11NBC Philadelphia. Birdie Africa MOVE Ship Hot Tub Death
Why No Official Was Prosecuted
Mayor Goode established the Philadelphia Special Investigation Commission, chaired by William H. Brown III, to investigate the disaster. The panel, known as the MOVE Commission, held five weeks of hearings with more than 90 witnesses and issued its final report in March 1986.12WHYY. Philadelphia MOVE Bombing 40th Anniversary 1985 Commission
The commission found that “dropping a bomb on an occupied row house was unconscionable” and that the plan was “reckless, ill-conceived, and hastily approved.”13The New York Times. Excerpts From Commission’s Report on Bombing It called Mayor Goode “grossly negligent” for failing to halt the operation despite knowing children were inside, and described a pattern of “appeasement, nonconfrontation and avoidance” in the months before the assault. Commissioner Sambor and Managing Director Leo Brooks were also found grossly negligent for failing to call off the siege.12WHYY. Philadelphia MOVE Bombing 40th Anniversary 1985 Commission The decision by Sambor and Fire Commissioner Richmond to let the fire burn was singled out as “unconscionable.” The commission described the deaths of the five children as “unjustified homicides which should be investigated by a grand jury.”
The report also found that Sambor had excluded the department’s normal command structure from planning, relying instead on the head of the bomb disposal unit, a pistol range sergeant, and a patrolman. The FBI had supplied “substantial quantities of C-4” to Philadelphia police without proper documentation, and those materials may have been used in the device dropped on May 13.13The New York Times. Excerpts From Commission’s Report on Bombing
In May 1988, a Philadelphia grand jury issued a 279-page report calling the event “an epic of governmental incompetence,” marked by “political cowardice in its inception, inexperience in its planning and ineptitude in its execution.” The jurors called the officials’ behavior “morally reprehensible” and wrote, “We do not exonerate the men responsible for this disaster.” Yet by a vote of 16 to 4, they concluded there was “no evidence that anyone had acted with criminal intent, recklessness or negligence under Pennsylvania law” sufficient to support charges.14The New York Times. Grand Jury Clears Everyone in Fatal Philadelphia Siege
The only person criminally punished in connection with the 1985 events was Ramona Africa, the lone adult survivor. She was convicted of aggravated assault, riot, and conspiracy and served seven years in prison.15Collaborative History. Long Shadow of the MOVE Fire Commissioner Sambor resigned in November 1985, citing “personal reasons.”16Los Angeles Times. Philadelphia Police Commissioner Sambor Resigns Lieutenant Frank Powell, the officer who dropped the bomb, was never prosecuted. He later told The Guardian: “What we did that day has never bothered me. I can live with that.”7The Guardian. MOVE 1985 Bombing Reconciliation Philadelphia
What the City Paid
In 1996, Ramona Africa, Louise James Africa, and six siblings of John Africa sued the city, former Commissioner Sambor, and former Fire Commissioner Richmond in U.S. District Court. A jury found that authorities had used excessive force and awarded $1.5 million in compensatory damages: $500,000 to Ramona Africa for her burns and scarring, $500,000 to Louise James Africa for the suffering of her son Frank James Africa, and $500,000 to John Africa’s siblings from the city and Richmond.17The Philadelphia Inquirer. City Ordered to Pay $1.5 Million to Plaintiffs in MOVE Bombing In an unusual gesture, the jury also ordered Sambor and Richmond to pay $1 per week each in punitive damages for 11 years. A federal judge later rescinded the judgments against the two commissioners, ruling they were entitled to immunity as city employees carrying out public duties. Mayor Goode had already been granted immunity, a ruling upheld by the Third Circuit Court of Appeals.15Collaborative History. Long Shadow of the MOVE Fire
The city’s effort to rebuild the 61 destroyed homes became its own debacle. The initial budget of $4.9 million grew to $8.27 million, with replacement homes costing about $130,000 each despite the original properties having a market value of roughly $30,000. The first contractor, Edward Edwards of the Ebony Construction Company, was fired and later imprisoned for looting $130,000 in construction funds.15Collaborative History. Long Shadow of the MOVE Fire Residents who moved in reported severe defects within the first year, and a 1997 Army Corps of Engineers study confirmed extensive problems across the block.
In 2000, Mayor John Street offered to buy the rebuilt homes back for $150,000 each. Thirty-six families accepted and the houses were boarded up. The 24 homeowners who refused sued the city; a district court initially awarded them $12.83 million, but the Third Circuit reduced that to $150,000 per homeowner in 2008. The 36 boarded-up properties sat vacant for years before the Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority transferred them in 2016 to a developer, AJR Endeavors, for $1 apiece. The developer renovated and resold them at prices between $249,000 and $289,900.18WHYY. 35 Years After MOVE Homes That Philly Bombed, for Sale
The Remains Scandal
In 2021, the bombing returned to public attention through a new controversy. It emerged that bone fragments recovered from the 1985 fire had been transferred by the Philadelphia Medical Examiner’s Office to the University of Pennsylvania Museum in 1986 for forensic identification and had never been returned to the Africa family. The remains had been used for research and teaching, including in a 2019 online course at Princeton University.19Penn Museum. Towards Respectful Resolution
City Health Commissioner Dr. Thomas Farley resigned in May 2021 after admitting he had ordered the remains destroyed four years earlier; it was later revealed they had not actually been destroyed.20NBC Philadelphia. Penn Museum Gross Insensitivity University Pennsylvania MOVE Bombing Report The Penn Museum apologized to the Africa family on April 28, 2021, and known remains were received by the family on July 2, 2021.19Penn Museum. Towards Respectful Resolution An independent investigation by the Tucker Law Group, released in August 2021, found the museum had shown “gross insensitivity” and “extremely poor judgment” in holding and occasionally displaying the remains. During a comprehensive inventory prompted by the scandal, the museum uncovered additional remains matching records for Delisha Africa in November 2024, which were returned to the family in March 2026.
Apologies and the 40th Anniversary
On November 12, 2020, the Philadelphia City Council unanimously passed a resolution formally apologizing for the bombing. Sponsored by Councilmember Jamie Gauthier and co-sponsored by Councilmembers Cherelle Parker and Helen Gym, the resolution acknowledged the “fundamental injustice, cruelty, brutality, and inhumanity of the MOVE Bombing” and established May 13 as an annual day of observation, reflection, and recommitment.21Philadelphia Tribune. Philadelphia City Council Formally Apologizes for MOVE Bombing 35 Years Ago
Former Mayor Goode, later an ordained Baptist minister who directed the Amachi Program mentoring children of incarcerated parents,22Eastern University. About Dr. W. Wilson Goode has publicly apologized for the bombing multiple times. He has said he did not know police planned to drop an explosive device from a helicopter, while acknowledging ultimate responsibility for the officials he appointed.23WHYY. Former Mayor W. Wilson Goode Sr. Says Philly Must Apologize for MOVE Bombing
On May 13, 2025, the 40th anniversary, the City Council passed another resolution declaring the date a day of reflection and remembrance. Mike Africa Jr., a MOVE representative whose parents were among the MOVE 9, said the resolutions were a positive step but that he intended to keep working toward a permanent memorial for those who died.24NBC Philadelphia. MOVE Bombing Anniversary Philadelphia City Council
In 2013, Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey requested a Justice Department review of the city’s use of force during the 1985 operation. The review confirmed the MOVE Commission’s original findings and identified “systemic deficiencies,” including the deployment of improperly trained police and military equipment against civilians.1Encyclopedia of Greater Philadelphia. MOVE It remains one of the only instances in American history in which a government dropped an explosive device on its own citizens on domestic soil.