Pamela Jenkins (informant)

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Pamela Jenkins (born 1965) is most notable as a peripheral witness in the 1982 trial and subsequent legal proceedings surrounding the killing of Philadelphia Police Department (PPD) officer David Faulkner. At the time of the Faulkner killing her main occupation was a sex worker, operating in the Philadelphia area; she was also a paid PPD informant. Years later, she would receive notoriety as a key government witness in prosecutions arising from the corruption and brutality scandals in 39th Police District in North Philadelphia, and in the so-called tainted murder case surrounding the conviction of Raymond Carter for a 1986 murder in North Philadelphia.

[edit] Relationship with Officer Ryan

Jenkins's relationship with Officer Ryan began sometime sometime in 1981 (but well before shooting of David Faulkner); in her affidavit in the PCRA hearings, she asserted that she was arrested by Ryan on prostitution charges charges when she was 16. Shortly after this, Ryan and Jenkins began a sexual relationship, and he pressured her to become a paid police informant for many years.

In 1996, Ryan and five other officers from the same district would be went to prison after being convicted of charges of planting evidence, stealing money from suspects and making false reports. Their convictions resulted in the release of numerous prisoners implicated by the officers.

[edit] Involvement in the Abu-Jamal case

In the Abu-Jamal's 1982 trial, Jeknins testifed that she was present at the scene, and that she saw Jamal fire the fatal shot that killed faulkner. In her 1997 statement, Jenkins claimed that Ryan "wanted me to perjure myself and say that I had seen Jamal shoot the police officer."