Nizah Morris
Encyclopedia
Nizah Morris was an American
transgender
entertainer. On December 22, 2002 Morris suffered a severe head injury from which she did not recover. Morris died on December 24, 2002, at Thomas Jefferson University
Hospital, when she was removed from life support. The Philadelphia Police Department's
handling of Morris' death sparked protests in the LGBT
community.
show at Bob and Barbara's—a bar in Philadelphia's
Center City neighborhood—and practicing Buddhism
.
. Morris left the bar at 2:00 a.m., and collapsed outside of the bar due to intoxication. Onlookers formed a group around Morris—who could not stand without assistance and had to be supported, according to witnesses—and waited for paramedics for approximately 20 minutes.
A 6th District police officer arrived, canceled the prior call for paramedics when Morris declined to go to a hospital, and offered her a courtesy ride to a hospital. Morris declined a ride to the hospital and asked to be taken home. Witnesses at the scene reportedly helped her into the police cruiser.
Though Morris lived in the 5000 block of Walnut Street
, police officers reported that she asked to be let out at 15th and Walnut streets, left the patrol car, and began walking toward 16th Street.
Minutes later, a passing motorist discovered Morris lying on the sidewalk, bleeding from the right side of her forehead. A call was placed to 911, and a 9th District officer arrived at the scene, but did not call a supervisor or treat the event as a crime.
Morris was transported to Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in critical condition. On December 23, 2002, she was removed from life support, and at 8:30 p.m. on December 24, 2002, Nizah Morris was pronounced dead.
. However, the Police Department's homicide unit refused to accept this ruling, classified Morris' death as accidental, and requested a second opinion from a brain-injury specialist.
The following day, Morris' mother—Roslyn Wilkins—was notified of her daughter's death by a detective who informed her, "He's dead." The detective was removed from the case after Wilkins complained about his alleged insensitivity.
On December 27, 2002, family members viewed photographs of Morris' body at the Medical Examiner's office, and expressed concern upon noticing slight indentation marks on her wrists. Morris' mother and sister said medical examiners showed them pictures indicating defensive wounds on her hands.
On December 31, 2002, the Philadelphia Inquirer published the first media account of Morris' death, which referred to her as a "prostitute" in the headline and a "male prostitute" in the body of the story.
Nizah Morris was cremated on January 1, 2003, after a funeral service attended by more than 300 people.
community. During a meeting on January 7, 2003 with Homicide Captain Charles Bloom, Wilkins learned that her daughter received a courtesy ride from police 20 minutes before she was discovered lying on the sidewalk with a head injury.
Details supplied by police about the moments prior to and following Morris' injury and discovery by a passing motorist conflicted with family members' recollections of Morris, and with witnesses' accounts prior to Morris entering the police car outside of the Key West Bar.
Morris' family doubted she would have accepted a ride from the police, given her fear of them, and questioned why she would ask to be dropped off miles from where she lived. A key witness to the event stated that when she asked Nizah where she lived that it sounded like 15th and Walnut. The message could have been misconstrued because Ms. Morris was incoherent.
A key missing fact is that when after being helped the first time (before the police arrived) was that after the initial help, Nizah was found in the street after a taxi refused her service. The taxi took off with the door open and with such force that this initial fall could have caused damage.
Witnesses who were outside of the Key West Bar said Morris was incapable of standing on her own, and had to be helped into the police car. They doubted that she would have been capable, just minutes later, of getting out of the police car on her own and walking away as police officers reported.
Police initially suggested Morris' death had been accidental, and a police spokesman declined to comment on what led the Medical Examiner to conclude Morris' death was a homicide.
transgender
woman.
Many of these contradictions and questions were reported by Timothy Cweik, a reporter for Philadelphia Gay News
, who has followed the story of Morris' story since the first reports of her death. Cweik reported the following contradictions and procedural lapses in the Morris case:
Questions and concerns led to the first of several LGBT
community meetings, protests and vigils in response to Morris' death and the police department's handling of the investigation.
In April 2003 the Philadelphia Police Department
released an edited version of the 911
recording, which included 3 transmissions between officers Skala, Novak, and Berry. The edited recording started at 3:07 a.m. and ended six minutes later.
The same month, in response to community concern, District Attorney Lynne Abraham launched an investigation of Morris' case, and promised to seek physical evidence, including the related 911
recording. However, the investigation ended in December 2003, without finding Morris' killer. Abraham asked for the public's help to investigate the case further, stated that the three officers in the case acted properly, and cited the courtesy ride given to Morris as a "humanitarian gesture."
In September 2003 the Center for Lesbian and Gay Civil Rights launched a civil suit against the Key West Bar where Morris became intoxicated, the police officers involved, the emergency technicians and the city of Philadelphia itself. The suit was settled for $250,000 in May 2004.
In December 2003, in response to community pressure, the Police Advisory Commission released dispatch records suggesting that the transmissions on the tape lasted for 49 minutes.
In January 2007 the Philadelphia Police Department
refused to release an unedited version of the 911
recording. On March 2007 the department agreed to play a complete version of the 911
tape for the Police Advisory Commission.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
transgender
Transgender
Transgender is a general term applied to a variety of individuals, behaviors, and groups involving tendencies to vary from culturally conventional gender roles....
entertainer. On December 22, 2002 Morris suffered a severe head injury from which she did not recover. Morris died on December 24, 2002, at Thomas Jefferson University
Thomas Jefferson University
Thomas Jefferson University is a private health sciences university in Center City, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in the United States. The university consists of six constituent colleges and schools, Jefferson Medical College, Jefferson College of Graduate Studies, Jefferson School of Health...
Hospital, when she was removed from life support. The Philadelphia Police Department's
Philadelphia Police Department
The Philadelphia Police Department is the police agency responsible for law enforcement and investigations within the City of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania...
handling of Morris' death sparked protests in the LGBT
LGBT
LGBT is an initialism that collectively refers to "lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender" people. In use since the 1990s, the term "LGBT" is an adaptation of the initialism "LGB", which itself started replacing the phrase "gay community" beginning in the mid-to-late 1980s, which many within the...
community.
Background
Nizah Morris began living as a woman in her early 20s. By December 2002 she had built a life for herself working at her mother's daycare center, performing in the weekly dragDrag (clothing)
Drag is used for any clothing carrying symbolic significance but usually referring to the clothing associated with one gender role when worn by a person of another gender. The origin of the term "drag" is unknown, but it may have originated in Polari, a gay street argot in England in the early...
show at Bob and Barbara's—a bar in Philadelphia's
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
Center City neighborhood—and practicing Buddhism
Buddhism
Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...
.
Injury and death
On December 22, Morris attended a party at the Key West Bar at the intersection of Juniper and Chancellor streets in PhiladelphiaPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
. Morris left the bar at 2:00 a.m., and collapsed outside of the bar due to intoxication. Onlookers formed a group around Morris—who could not stand without assistance and had to be supported, according to witnesses—and waited for paramedics for approximately 20 minutes.
A 6th District police officer arrived, canceled the prior call for paramedics when Morris declined to go to a hospital, and offered her a courtesy ride to a hospital. Morris declined a ride to the hospital and asked to be taken home. Witnesses at the scene reportedly helped her into the police cruiser.
Though Morris lived in the 5000 block of Walnut Street
Walnut Street (Philadelphia)
Walnut Street is located in downtown Philadelphia and extends from the city's Delaware River waterfront through Center City and West Philadelphia. Walnut Street has been characterized as "the city's premier shopping district"...
, police officers reported that she asked to be let out at 15th and Walnut streets, left the patrol car, and began walking toward 16th Street.
Minutes later, a passing motorist discovered Morris lying on the sidewalk, bleeding from the right side of her forehead. A call was placed to 911, and a 9th District officer arrived at the scene, but did not call a supervisor or treat the event as a crime.
Morris was transported to Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in critical condition. On December 23, 2002, she was removed from life support, and at 8:30 p.m. on December 24, 2002, Nizah Morris was pronounced dead.
Aftermath and funeral
On December 25, 2002, the Medical Examiner's office classified Morris' death as a homicideHomicide
Homicide refers to the act of a human killing another human. Murder, for example, is a type of homicide. It can also describe a person who has committed such an act, though this use is rare in modern English...
. However, the Police Department's homicide unit refused to accept this ruling, classified Morris' death as accidental, and requested a second opinion from a brain-injury specialist.
The following day, Morris' mother—Roslyn Wilkins—was notified of her daughter's death by a detective who informed her, "He's dead." The detective was removed from the case after Wilkins complained about his alleged insensitivity.
On December 27, 2002, family members viewed photographs of Morris' body at the Medical Examiner's office, and expressed concern upon noticing slight indentation marks on her wrists. Morris' mother and sister said medical examiners showed them pictures indicating defensive wounds on her hands.
On December 31, 2002, the Philadelphia Inquirer published the first media account of Morris' death, which referred to her as a "prostitute" in the headline and a "male prostitute" in the body of the story.
Nizah Morris was cremated on January 1, 2003, after a funeral service attended by more than 300 people.
Questions and controversy
In the days after Morris' funeral, questions concerning her death arose among her family members and in the LGBTLGBT
LGBT is an initialism that collectively refers to "lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender" people. In use since the 1990s, the term "LGBT" is an adaptation of the initialism "LGB", which itself started replacing the phrase "gay community" beginning in the mid-to-late 1980s, which many within the...
community. During a meeting on January 7, 2003 with Homicide Captain Charles Bloom, Wilkins learned that her daughter received a courtesy ride from police 20 minutes before she was discovered lying on the sidewalk with a head injury.
Details supplied by police about the moments prior to and following Morris' injury and discovery by a passing motorist conflicted with family members' recollections of Morris, and with witnesses' accounts prior to Morris entering the police car outside of the Key West Bar.
Morris' family doubted she would have accepted a ride from the police, given her fear of them, and questioned why she would ask to be dropped off miles from where she lived. A key witness to the event stated that when she asked Nizah where she lived that it sounded like 15th and Walnut. The message could have been misconstrued because Ms. Morris was incoherent.
A key missing fact is that when after being helped the first time (before the police arrived) was that after the initial help, Nizah was found in the street after a taxi refused her service. The taxi took off with the door open and with such force that this initial fall could have caused damage.
Witnesses who were outside of the Key West Bar said Morris was incapable of standing on her own, and had to be helped into the police car. They doubted that she would have been capable, just minutes later, of getting out of the police car on her own and walking away as police officers reported.
Second opinion
On January 30, 2003, more than a month after Morris' death and the Medical Examiner's assessment that it was a homicide, the homicide division of the police department officially declared Morris' death a homicide. Tests performed by a brain-injury specialist, on samples taken during an initial autopsy, resulted in a finding that her death was due to cerebral injury.Police initially suggested Morris' death had been accidental, and a police spokesman declined to comment on what led the Medical Examiner to conclude Morris' death was a homicide.
Contradictions and more questions
Contradictions between police accounts and witness accounts, and incomplete compliance with police procedures also aroused concerns that Morris case had been mishandled and the cause of her injury and subsequent death covered up because of her status as an African AmericanAfrican American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
transgender
Transgender
Transgender is a general term applied to a variety of individuals, behaviors, and groups involving tendencies to vary from culturally conventional gender roles....
woman.
Many of these contradictions and questions were reported by Timothy Cweik, a reporter for Philadelphia Gay News
Philadelphia Gay News
Philadelphia Gay News is a lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender newspaper in the Philadelphia area. The publication was founded in 1976 by Mark Segal, who was inspired by activist Frank Kameny when they met in 1970...
, who has followed the story of Morris' story since the first reports of her death. Cweik reported the following contradictions and procedural lapses in the Morris case:
- 2:45 a.m. Police accounts say 6th District officer Elizabeth Skala stopped outside of the Key West Bar and offered Morris a courtesy ride. Witness accounts say that Officer Skala stopped to ask if Morris needed to be taken to a hospital, but Morris "waved off" Officer Skala's offer. Officer Skala denied this first encounter.
- 3:07 a.m. - The first 9119-1-19-1-1 is the emergency telephone number for the North American Numbering Plan .It is one of eight N11 codes.The use of this number is for emergency circumstances only, and to use it for any other purpose can be a crime.-History:In the earliest days of telephone technology, prior to the...
call is placed and an ambulance dispatched to the 16th and Juniper, outside of the Key West Bar. Ninth District Officer Kenneth Novak was also dispatched, with Officer Skala as his back-up. Novak and Skala accepted the assignment to investigate the situation outside of the Key West Bar. Dispatch records show Officer Novak arrived first, but Officer Skala says she arrived first. - Skala then indicated to Novak that she did not require his assistance with Morris—who, aside from being intoxicated, was over six feet tall and a foot taller than officer Skala. Novack did not place himself back in service for new assignments, but instead tried to catch up with Skala on the courtesy ride, but did not use his police radio to coordinate movements with Skala, and arrived at the scene too late.
- Officer Skala then says she gave Morris a ride home, but thought Morris said she lived at 15th and Walnut streets, where police report Morris asked to get out of the vehicle. According to Officer Skala, the ride lasted four minutes. Her log indicated that it lasted 16 minutes.
- 3:25 a.m. Ninth District Officer Thomas Berry said he offered to help Morris out of the car at 15th and Walnut Streets, but that she did not need his help. Witnesses at the Key West Bar said that Morris was unable to stand on her own and had to be helped into the police car.
- The officers' logs at this point record the incident as a successful hospital run, and do not record Morris leaving the police car at 15th and Walnut streets.
- 3:35 a.m. - A second series of 9119-1-19-1-1 is the emergency telephone number for the North American Numbering Plan .It is one of eight N11 codes.The use of this number is for emergency circumstances only, and to use it for any other purpose can be a crime.-History:In the earliest days of telephone technology, prior to the...
calls takes place when Morris is found at 16th and Walnut streets, injured and unconscious , but breathing. Officer Berry takes control of the scene, and reports the incident as a "DK," police department code for a drunken fall. Officer Berry did not interview the citizen who discovered Morris and stopped to help her. No photographs were taken of the scene, nor was evidence such as Morris' purse and hair brush preserved. - Berry's incident report said he left the injury scene at 3:35 a.m., but a 911 tape indicates Berry did not leave the scene until 4:05 a.m., as paramedics were placing Morris in the ambulance.
- Officer Novak was assigned to investigate the scene, and accepted the assignment, but no report was filed.
- Citizen witnesses said that no first aidFirst aidFirst aid is the provision of initial care for an illness or injury. It is usually performed by non-expert, but trained personnel to a sick or injured person until definitive medical treatment can be accessed. Certain self-limiting illnesses or minor injuries may not require further medical care...
appeared to be offered to Morris, nor were any apparent efforts made to stabilize her head before moving her or placing her in the ambulance. Witnesses also said that before Morris was placed in the ambulance, Officer Berry used Morris' jacket to cover her face, as if to indicate that she was already dead. - 4:15 a.m. - Hospital records indicate Morris' admission to Thomas Jefferson University Hospital. Records also indicate that the hospital summoned police officers to help identify Morris, whom they suspected was a crime victim, which suggests Morris was delivered to the hospital without being identified.
- Officer Novak was dispatched to the hospital to investigate. Novak calls Officers Berry and Skala to the hospital, where the three again assess the cause of Morris' injury as a drunken fall. No reports are filed concerning the investigation at the hospital.
- Morris remained in the hospital for 64 hours, unidentified. Officer Novak, however, was familiar with Morris due to her previous arrests for offenses related to prostitutionProstitutionProstitution is the act or practice of providing sexual services to another person in return for payment. The person who receives payment for sexual services is called a prostitute and the person who receives such services is known by a multitude of terms, including a "john". Prostitution is one of...
. At no point did he identify her to hospital staff. Hospital records show staff efforts to identify Morris, whose fingerprintFingerprintA fingerprint in its narrow sense is an impression left by the friction ridges of a human finger. In a wider use of the term, fingerprints are the traces of an impression from the friction ridges of any part of a human hand. A print from the foot can also leave an impression of friction ridges...
s would have been on file due to her previous arrests. - Witnesses at the injury scene also identified Morris to Officer Berry by name and her employment at Bob and Barbaras. There is no indication that Officer Berry passed this information to the hospital.
- Morris was removed from life support after 64 hours in the hospital, and her family was informed of her death the following day.
Questions and concerns led to the first of several LGBT
LGBT
LGBT is an initialism that collectively refers to "lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender" people. In use since the 1990s, the term "LGBT" is an adaptation of the initialism "LGB", which itself started replacing the phrase "gay community" beginning in the mid-to-late 1980s, which many within the...
community meetings, protests and vigils in response to Morris' death and the police department's handling of the investigation.
In April 2003 the Philadelphia Police Department
Philadelphia Police Department
The Philadelphia Police Department is the police agency responsible for law enforcement and investigations within the City of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania...
released an edited version of the 911
9-1-1
9-1-1 is the emergency telephone number for the North American Numbering Plan .It is one of eight N11 codes.The use of this number is for emergency circumstances only, and to use it for any other purpose can be a crime.-History:In the earliest days of telephone technology, prior to the...
recording, which included 3 transmissions between officers Skala, Novak, and Berry. The edited recording started at 3:07 a.m. and ended six minutes later.
The same month, in response to community concern, District Attorney Lynne Abraham launched an investigation of Morris' case, and promised to seek physical evidence, including the related 911
9-1-1
9-1-1 is the emergency telephone number for the North American Numbering Plan .It is one of eight N11 codes.The use of this number is for emergency circumstances only, and to use it for any other purpose can be a crime.-History:In the earliest days of telephone technology, prior to the...
recording. However, the investigation ended in December 2003, without finding Morris' killer. Abraham asked for the public's help to investigate the case further, stated that the three officers in the case acted properly, and cited the courtesy ride given to Morris as a "humanitarian gesture."
In September 2003 the Center for Lesbian and Gay Civil Rights launched a civil suit against the Key West Bar where Morris became intoxicated, the police officers involved, the emergency technicians and the city of Philadelphia itself. The suit was settled for $250,000 in May 2004.
In December 2003, in response to community pressure, the Police Advisory Commission released dispatch records suggesting that the transmissions on the tape lasted for 49 minutes.
In January 2007 the Philadelphia Police Department
Philadelphia Police Department
The Philadelphia Police Department is the police agency responsible for law enforcement and investigations within the City of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania...
refused to release an unedited version of the 911
9-1-1
9-1-1 is the emergency telephone number for the North American Numbering Plan .It is one of eight N11 codes.The use of this number is for emergency circumstances only, and to use it for any other purpose can be a crime.-History:In the earliest days of telephone technology, prior to the...
recording. On March 2007 the department agreed to play a complete version of the 911
9-1-1
9-1-1 is the emergency telephone number for the North American Numbering Plan .It is one of eight N11 codes.The use of this number is for emergency circumstances only, and to use it for any other purpose can be a crime.-History:In the earliest days of telephone technology, prior to the...
tape for the Police Advisory Commission.