Proposed law bearing fallen Scranton officer's name would add penalties for running from arrest

Jul. 12—Six years after Scranton Patrolman John Wilding died chasing after robbery suspects, lawmakers are again set to consider a bill to make such a flight a felony.

Called "Officer John Wilding's Law," the bill, introduced by state Sens. John Yudichak and Marty Flynn, would make it a felony should someone get hurt or die during a foot pursuit with police, according to a joint statement from the two lawmakers Monday, the anniversary of Wilding's death. Otherwise, the proposed violation — evading arrest or detention on foot — would be graded as a misdemeanor if a person "knowingly and intentionally flees on foot from a public servant attempting to lawfully arrest or detain that person," according to the bill.

"He worked hard to protect Scranton, yet our law fell short in protecting him," said Flynn, D-22, in a statement announcing the bill, adding it "honors his legacy and the awful tragedy that could have been prevented if a law was in place to prohibit fleeing from an officer by foot."

The bill previously was introduced, most recently in 2020, by former state Sen. John Blake. It unanimously passed the state Senate Judiciary Committee but did not advance further. However, after advocates and officers gave feedback, the bill this session includes language creating a separate felony offense should a police officer be injured during a pursuit, said Flynn and Yudichak.

In previously opposing the proposed law, the American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania argued it creates a duplicative and unnecessary offense that is "dangerously ill-defined" and which could end up being used to punish protestors exercising their First Amendment rights.

"This offense could make every protestor who flees from the police subject to criminal charges," wrote Elizabeth Randol, legislative director of the ACLU of Pennsylvania, in an October memo.

Carly Simpson, a spokeswoman for Yudichak, said they are "familiar with the position of the ACLU" and would look into it over the course of the year.

"We're happy to meet with them and see what we can do," she said.

Wilding, 29, died July 12, 2015, after helping pursue three 17-year-old armed robbery suspects, who initially fled in a vehicle until it crashed into a low concrete wall on Lafayette Street near North Main Avenue, prompting them to scatter on foot. Wilding hopped a wall while trying to assist other officers in the chase and fell 10 to 15 feet. The three teens — Tanner Curtis, Isiah Edwards and Nasiir Jones — were arrested and pleaded guilty in August 2017, to robbery and third-degree murder and were immediately sentenced to nine to 18 years in prison.

"I don't want another mother to feel the same way I have felt since that day," said his mother, Mary Wilding, in a statement.

Lackawanna County District Attorney Mark Powell, who has supported the bill, said fleeing from arrest in a vehicle is a crime but "no such law exists" when the pursuit is a foot chase, even though it could end in tragedy.

"I think it puts a face ... to some of the peril that police officers face on a day-to-day basis," Powell said. "While his loss is tragic, this bill is a step in the right direction."

The current bill is before the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Contact the writer: jkohut@timesshamrock.com, 570-348-9100, x5187; @jkohutTT on Twitter.