Justice for Chello Coalition Seeks Answers, Demands Transparency

Contributed

The folks organizing the Justice for Chello movement want the public to recognize the unnecessary loss of life and all those affected by the shooting death of Marchello Woodard – a proud father, coach, and volunteer.

The death of Marchello Woodard, a 43-year-old father with weeks left of parole, left the Erie community in shock. Now, nearly a month after Woodard was shot multiple times by a Pennsylvania state parole officer on July 2, family and friends are left waiting for answers and justice.

The Justice for Chello Coalition was formed "to find justice, share information, educate, and make long lasting change," according to the group's Facebook page. It consists of seven individuals: Terry and Jerry Roberts, Deonte Cooley, Malcolm Pullium, Craig Woodard Sr., and Cyndi Treiber. Several members are related to or were close friends with Woodard. Treiber worked in the military for several years with experience in crisis management and worked on an investigative project on active duty military deaths – Treiber wanted to lend her knowledge and experience to the cause. "We all just sat down and we said, okay, we're going to do whatever we have to do in an organized manner, with integrity, to get justice for Chello, and that's what we've been doing," Treiber said.

Since Woodard's death, the coalition has been involved in organizing protests, sitting in and speaking at council meetings, and writing to the Erie County District Attorney. I had a chance to speak with Treiber about the coalition, Marchello, the homicide, the investigation, and what we, as a community, can do to prevent this from happening again.

The community has many questions and misgivings about how the investigation has been handled thus far. Since the shooting, members of the Justice for Chello Coalition have spoken at both Erie City and Erie County Council meetings, encouraging city and county officials to advocate for justice and transparency during the investigation. "I think the Brown and Black community are feeling dismissed. They feel that this would not have happened if the roles of race were reversed. Unfortunately, when you have a lack of transparency, people feel unheard and then they get angry and that's where people are right now," Treiber said.

On Aug. 8, nationally-known attorney Ben Crump hosted a press conference at the Second Baptist Church in Erie to address Woodard's death. Crump is a renowned civil rights lawyer, having represented families of Trayvon Martin, George Floyd, those affected by the Flint Water Crisis, and more. Crump thanked the coalition for securing a video of the incident that allegedly "contradicts the narrative of the patrol officers, because the video speaks for itself. They've been selling this false narrative that said the officer's life was in danger because he was being dragged [by Woodard's car], but you see those three shots ring out, and the car hasn't moved."

The organizers of the Justice for Chello movement have arranged multiple protests and have attended city and county council meetings en masse, as they continue to advocate for transparency, answers, and ultimately, justice. Contributed photo.

The video, which was captured by a neighbor's doorbell camera, was called "the most important piece of evidence" by Crump.

The fiscal year 2023-2024 state budget provided $1.5 million dollars for body cameras for State Field Supervision in Pennsylvania and Act 53 of 2023 was passed in both the House and the Senate to authorize parole officers to wear body cameras. However, no body camera footage from the shooting is publicly available. "The guys should have the cams, which would've made this an open-and-shut, one-day case," Treiber said. Parole officers in Pennsylvania are allowed to wear body-worn cameras, but are not required to do so.

There is legislation in Pennsylvania regarding bias complaints against parole officers, too.

Governor Josh Shapiro started the Citizen Law Enforcement Advisory and Review (CLEAR) Commission in response to a bias-based complaint against the state parole board by a parolee's mother. "There's already an entire system in place for addressing these issues so we would like to see Governor Shapiro step up and say, 'This is exactly why I created the CLEAR commission and this is what I'm going to do.' We would like that to get plugged into our field office for sure." When the Erie Reader reached out to Shapiro's office for comment, they did not provide any and instead directed us to the Pennsylvania State Police.

Fifty-seven days after the shooting, on Aug. 28, Erie County District Attorney Elizabeth Hirz released an updated statement on the investigation, saying:

"The Erie County District Attorney's Office has received investigative materials from the Pennsylvania State Police regarding the death of Marchello Woodard and is currently reviewing them. Additional follow-up and continued collaboration with the Pennsylvania State Police will be necessary, and at this stage, no determination has been made. We acknowledge and understand the community's frustration regarding the length of the ongoing investigation. However, we want to assure the public that we, in collaboration with the Pennsylvania State Police, are continuing to conduct a comprehensive and thorough investigation.

We recognize the importance of transparency and appreciate the community's desire for answers. However, to protect the integrity of the investigation and ensure justice is properly served, we are unable to release specific details.

We ask for your continued patience and trust as we work to uncover the full truth. These investigations take time. Our priority and commitment remain to ensuring this investigation is handled with the diligence, professionalism, and care that our community deserves.

As stated previously, once the investigation is complete and our legal review is concluded, we will communicate the outcome to the family first, and then to the public."

In response to the DA, the coalition responded in part saying, "We are hopeful this will be a new start to a more fluid communication as a means to show the community their needs and concerns are being heard." They also requested a meeting with Hirz to "facilitate further conversation and not to discuss any investigative details."

Treiber reflected on the community's loss of Marchello Woodard, and how his death continues to affect his friends, family, and those advocating for him. "Marchello had three kids; he was an excellent father and was extraordinarily involved and invested in his children. All of his kids are on the ball. He volunteered in the community, he coached a basketball team and bought every single kid on the team new sneakers," Treiber said.

Alana Sabol can be reached at alana@eriereader.com