Thursday, May 23, 2013
Thursday, May 23, 2013

Cop fatally shoots armed suspect in Kensington

A Philly cop fatally wounded a gun-toting robbery suspect in Kensington Thursday night in a scene eerily similar to the events that led to Officer John Pawlowski's death, police said.

9 comments

Cop fatally shoots armed suspect in Kensington

POSTED: Friday, February 20, 2009, 10:26 PM

A Philly cop fatally wounded a gun-toting robbery suspect in Kensington Thursday night in a scene eerily similar to the events that led to Officer John Pawlowski’s death, police said.

The dramatic encounter began about 10:35 p.m., minutes after Pawlowski’s viewing had ended, when a man flagged down two officers on Allegheny Avenue near Somerset Street and claimed he had just been robbed and assaulted, said police spokesman Lt. Frank Vanore.
The victim described his attacker as a 30-year-old white man who wore a black hat and white jacket. Soon after, the officers spotted a person matching that description at Kensington and Allegheny, Vanore said.
One cop jumped out of his wagon and approached the man, who took off running. The cops chased the man to Hilton Street near G and found themselves nearly re-enacting the moments before Pawlowski’s slaying, Vanore said.
“They asked him repeatedly to remove his hands from his pockets, which he did not,” Vanore said.
Instead, the suspect inched toward the officers and suddenly removed a .380-caliber handgun from his pocket. Vanore said one of the officers opened fire, striking the suspect once.
The suspect, whose name was not released, was taken to Temple University Hospital. He died about 1:30 a.m. today, Vanore said.
“It was similar to what happened to Officer Pawlowski,” Vanore said. “Luckily, they came out on top this time.”
Neither of the officers, who work in the 24th District, headquartered on Whitaker Avenue near Erie, were injured. The incident will be investigated by police Internal Affairs , as is standard practice when officers fire their weapons.

Pawlowski, 25, was shot and killed Feb. 13 when he and his partner, Officer Mark Klein, responded to a 9-1-1 call in Logan from a “hack” cabbie who claimed he had been assaulted and harassed by a man later identified as Rasheed Scruggs. Pawlowski and his partner told Scruggs to remove his hands from his jacket pockets several times. Instead, police said, Scruggs squeezed the trigger of a .357 Magnum that he had tucked inside one of his pockets. A bullet struck Pawlowski just above his bullet-proof vest.
Scruggs, 33, was wounded during an ensuing shootout with police. He is recovering in police custody at Albert Einstein Medical Center.
Pawlowski, a five-year veteran who was expecting his first child, was laid to rest earlier today. He was the seventh  officer killed in the line of duty since May 2006.
 

David Gambacorta @ 10:26 PM  Permalink | 9 comments
9 comments
Comments  (9)
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 10:58 PM, 02/20/2009
    well done!
    dpcoz
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 12:02 AM, 02/21/2009
    I think its more to the story than what is written. Sounds like shoot on site to me
    stackhouse
  • Comment removed.
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 1:24 AM, 02/21/2009
    I'm glad that the police prevailed. the thing that upsets me is that if it was an African American who was shot there would be an uproar and an investigation, however because the criminal was white, it will be considred almost routine - which it should be - all criminals who aim guns at or shoot at cops should be shot dead on site regardless of their skin color.
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 2:03 AM, 02/21/2009
    Only two words needed concerning the "suspect:" "good"
    George Tomezsko
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 2:04 AM, 02/21/2009
    Only two words needed concerning the "suspect:" "good" and "riddance."
    George Tomezsko
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 2:53 AM, 02/21/2009
    Good.
    AreaMan
  • Comment removed.
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 11:23 AM, 02/23/2009
    tatum, i'm gonna' guess that all those things apply to this white trash crumb. one more thing applies to all thugs of every race............"stupid is as stupid does".
    scorpio27


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