ShitcagoPd
08-12-2012, 10:52 AM
By Robert Moran The Philadelphia Inquirer
PHILADELPHIA — A Philadelphia officer fatally shot a man Thursday evening during what police said was a violent struggle in a West Philadelphia alleyway.
At 6:26 p.m., an 18th District patrol car pulled over a tan Ford at 56th Street and Walton Avenue for a traffic stop, said Lt. Ray Evers, a police spokesman.
Three males were in the car, and one from the front passenger seat fled with an officer in pursuit, Evers said.
The man ran into a dead end in an alleyway between Pemberton Street and Cedar Avenue, and a violent struggle ensued, Evers said.
The unidentified man, described as in his 20s, pulled the officer's collapsible baton from his belt and tried to grab the officer's Taser, Evers said.
The officer then fired three shots, striking the suspect twice in the chest, Evers said.
Medics pronounced the man dead at the scene at 6:48.
The driver drove off and was still at large Thursday night. The passenger from the backseat remained at the scene and was taken to Police Headquarters to be questioned.
Internal Affairs officers were investigating the shooting, Evers said.
Claudia Dunn, 60, who lives nearby, said she saw part of the foot pursuit and questioned the need for the officer to kill the man.
She described the fleeing man as overweight and said he was trying to keep his sagging brown khakis from falling as he ran.
"I'm shocked he got as far as he did," she said, referring to the ungainly way the man was running.
Dunn said the passenger who stayed at the scene described himself as the dead man's brother.
While she was suspicious of the shooting, she said it was a bad decision for the man to run.
"At least he'd still be alive," she said.
Copyright 2012 Philadelphia Newspapers, LLC
More... (http://www.policeone.com/officer-shootings/articles/5908488-Officer-kills-man-struggling-for-TASER-in-Phila)
PHILADELPHIA — A Philadelphia officer fatally shot a man Thursday evening during what police said was a violent struggle in a West Philadelphia alleyway.
At 6:26 p.m., an 18th District patrol car pulled over a tan Ford at 56th Street and Walton Avenue for a traffic stop, said Lt. Ray Evers, a police spokesman.
Three males were in the car, and one from the front passenger seat fled with an officer in pursuit, Evers said.
The man ran into a dead end in an alleyway between Pemberton Street and Cedar Avenue, and a violent struggle ensued, Evers said.
The unidentified man, described as in his 20s, pulled the officer's collapsible baton from his belt and tried to grab the officer's Taser, Evers said.
The officer then fired three shots, striking the suspect twice in the chest, Evers said.
Medics pronounced the man dead at the scene at 6:48.
The driver drove off and was still at large Thursday night. The passenger from the backseat remained at the scene and was taken to Police Headquarters to be questioned.
Internal Affairs officers were investigating the shooting, Evers said.
Claudia Dunn, 60, who lives nearby, said she saw part of the foot pursuit and questioned the need for the officer to kill the man.
She described the fleeing man as overweight and said he was trying to keep his sagging brown khakis from falling as he ran.
"I'm shocked he got as far as he did," she said, referring to the ungainly way the man was running.
Dunn said the passenger who stayed at the scene described himself as the dead man's brother.
While she was suspicious of the shooting, she said it was a bad decision for the man to run.
"At least he'd still be alive," she said.
Copyright 2012 Philadelphia Newspapers, LLC
More... (http://www.policeone.com/officer-shootings/articles/5908488-Officer-kills-man-struggling-for-TASER-in-Phila)