May 14th marked the 20th anniversary of the 1985 confrontation between Philadelphia police and the back-to-nature group MOVE, one of the most-controversial moments in the city's history.

Slideshow: Images From The 1985 Move Confrontation And Fire (36 Images)
18 Videos: Watch The Original Broadcast Of Move Disaster From 1985!

That standoff ended when a state police helicopter dropped an explosive device on the Move compound on Osage Avenue in West Philadelphia at 5:27 p.m. on May 13, 1985.

The action, taken at the behest of Philadelphia officials and approved by then Mayor Wilson Goode, started a fire at the compound that killed 11 people, including 6 children. The blaze also destroyed an entire city block.

The backlash from the event tarnished the city's reputation globally, and left many people wondering how such an incident could happen.

Events Unfold

WCAU-TV was on the scene that day at 5:27 p.m. and was the only TV station to capture the actual bombing on camera, in a video shown thousands of times worldwide.

Watch Start Of Original Move Broadcasts From 1985

Reporters and camera crews were at Osage Avenue at 6 a.m., along with 500 police officers, when gunfire broke out at the compound, sending reporters and city officials scrambling, after police served arrest warrants at the Move compound.

The 1985 standoff between Philadelphia police and Move members had been building for seven years, after a police officer died in an earlier confrontation with Move.

On August 8, 1978, Officer James Ramp was shot dead, allegedly by Move members, at another Move compound. Several police officers and firefighters were also wounded in the 1978 confrontation. The city also bulldozed that Move compound.

Nine members of the group were later convicted of murder and sentenced to prison.

In the following years, Move members loudly protested the innocence of the jailed "Move 9," often proclaiming their beliefs using loudspeakers with earshot of their West Philadelphia neighbors.

Neighbors also complained of a stench emanating from the Osage Avenue compound, and claimed that Move members could be seen carrying weapons.

On the morning on May 13, 1985, police showed up with arrest warrants for 4 Move members. A 90-minute gunfire battle ensued, part of which was filmed by WCAU cameras.

At 4:45 p.m., WCAU cut into its daily showing of "Quincy M.E." to report on a press conference by Goode, where the mayor reiterated the city's efforts to get the situation resolved.

Bomb Dropped On House

WCAU started its regularly scheduled 5 p.m. news broadcast with a live update from reporter Harvey Clark at the Osage Avenue scene. News anchor Larry Kane cut back to Clark about 27 minutes later when an explosion could be heard on top of the house as the helicopter flew over.

WCAU Video Shows Move Bombing

Clark reported that he saw a "satchel device" being dropped from the helicopter on to the compound before the explosion.

Minutes later, video footage from a temporary "mastcam" erected by WCAU was sent back to the station via microwave transmission: It showed the entire incident on tape.

The mastcam was a remote camera placed on a mast earlier that day, after police told the press to move back from the scene. It allowed WCAU's cameramen to look at the scene at different angles.

A fire soon broke out at the compound and spread into the neighborhood. Police told firefighters to stay back for 45 minutes.

The fire became uncontrollable, eventually destroying 61 row houses, including Move's compound, and leaving 250 people homeless.

Police also used WCAU's mastcam, in the confusion after the explosion, to evaluate the fire scene.

In subsequent years, the city paid millions to settle civil claims from victims' families, and rebuild the neighborhood.

A special commission concluded that "dropping a bomb on an occupied row house was unconscionable." However, no criminal charges were filed against officials involved in the incident.