Charles "Reds" Mellor, Police officer

(Michele Tranquilli)
Posted: May 06, 2010

POLICE OFFICER Charles "Reds" Mellor was in the alley behind the MOVE house with his partner, James Berghaier, when the fire began. He stood in the middle of the alley to provide cover as Berghaier rescued Birdie Africa. He coaxed Ramona Africa down the alley and placed her under arrest.

1985: When Berghaier said he was going to rescue Birdie, Mellor warned him, "It could be a trap." Mellor then moved to the middle of the alley to cover Berghaier.

He also watched Ramona as she came down the alley toward them.

"I was watching her. I was watching Birdie. . . . I was watching Jimmy to make sure he was all right, and the only way I could do that was stand exactly where I stood. It was very uncomfortable, but if I hadn't done that and something had happened to Jimmy, I would never have forgiven myself," he said in a recent interview. "It seemed like it took an hour and I'm sure it took a minute."

When Ramona reached Mellor, "I said, 'Ramona, you're under arrest.' She said, 'Don't shoot. I give up.' . . . When she passed Jimmy's gun, leaning against the wall, I said, 'Don't even think about it.' She said, 'No, no. I'm tired. I give up.' "

Quote: Mellor told the MOVE Commission that he had screamed at Ramona, "Come to me! Come to me!"

2010: Mellor, 65, stayed with the Police Department until 1990, then left to take a job leading the SWAT team for the state Attorney General's Office. He divorced and remarried and lives with his wife in Berks County. He retired in 2002.

Mellor knows that some people solely blame the police for the loss of life and destruction of the neighborhood that happened that day and he doesn't like that.

"I'm a police officer. I deal with black and white, right and wrong. I felt what I did was right," Mellor said. "I didn't care how the public perceived what I did.  . . . I was sent to do a job, I did the job to the best of my ability."

-Natalie Pompilio

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