Hero cop Richard Decoatsworth shot and wounded a motorcyclist last night after a bizarre chase in Kensington, a police source said.
Chief Inspector Scott Small said the incident began about 8:40 p.m., when two cops spotted a man with a gun riding on a motorcycle near A Street and Indiana Avenue.
Decoatsworth and his partner on the Highway Patrol gave chase and watched the rider toss his gun near Mascher and Dauphin streets, Small said.
The rider then pulled over on Hagert Street near Amber, but kept the motorcycle running. The Highway Patrol cops got out of their cruiser, “and then something pretty bizarre happened,” Small said.
A second man who was standing on Hagert Street suddenly jumped on the motorcycle and tried to mow down the cops, Small said. Decoatsworth opened fire and wounded the “new” driver, identified by relatives as Jay James, 18, in the thigh.
Police found James shortly after in the emergency room at Hahnemann University Hospital, Small said.
Investigators believe that James knew the original driver of the motorcycle. He was arrested at his home on Palethorp Street near Diamond.
“They just ran his plates and went to the house where the motorcycle was registered,” Small said.
Neither Decoatsworth nor his partner, whose name was not released, was injured.
Decoatsworth, 23, was shot in the face by a shotgun-toting thug in Southwest Philadelphia two years ago. He recovered and rejoined the force.
In February, his bravery was rewarded with a seat next to first lady Michelle Obama during a presidential speech in Washington.
Outside Hahnemann last night, crime scene tape surrounded James’ mother’s blood-splattered car. She had driven her son to the hospital, Small said.
“I’m scared, I want answers. I want to know what’s going on and if my nephew is OK,” said James’ aunt, MaryAnn Attica.
“The cops are trying to say that he tried to run them over but it wasn’t like that,” added Jesenia Benabe, James’ girlfriend.
Nah.......cops usually like being targets of thugs on motorcycles. None of these thugs are ever guilty. It is always the police department's fault. I am sure that Officer Decoatsworth loves getting another chance to get shot in the face. Do these people ever stop to think how idiotic their constant excuses sound?— Original #11
Comment removed.- yo this dude is not a freaking HERO.. he has become a vigilante with a badge.. this is the second SHOOTING he has been involved in this year... he is still seing that shotgun in his face daily.. im not saying he shouldnt be afraid for his life but he needs to be reigned in a lil.. did any one notice how his previous shooting incident was swept under the rug.. no real hoopla surrounding that incident in logan section of the city.. and in regard to regdunlop.. philly cops are trained to kill not injure.. this is a known fact.. straight from the mouth of a Corrections Officer.. the idiots in the street aren't helping either and in no way do i think they deserve a slap on the wrist.. im just pointing out the facts.. this guy is in the wrong place at the wrong time all the time it appears.. or IS HE??— bbrown
- The cops are trying to say that he tried to run them over but it wasn’t like that,” added Jesenia Benabe, James’ girlfriend. ... this sounds just like his last "justified shooting" where he said the suspect went for his gun and that is why he shot him... are you kidding me!!!— bbrown
- bbrown with some reliable sources - corrections officers.— reddog44
- the girlfriend said "it wasnt like that". let me guess, he was just sitting there reading the bible minding his own biness, when he was shot by the officer. everyone is quick to blame the cops first. next time shoot to kill. thats the only way to bring back some civility to philly. and to all the thugs in the streets, stick to killing each other, we like it that way.— chriscav
- Funny how the aunt is clueless as to what happened with her nephew when his mother drove him to the hospital in her "blood splattered" car. No one thought to call the police on their way to the hospital? Shouldn't they have "..want(ed) answers" & to "...know what’s going on" en route to the hospital? Especially if it "wasn't like that" according to James' girlfriend. You couldn't pay me enough to be a police officer in this city; we know that there is corruption, but for those who work each day, with a prayer of making it to the next day - God bless you and the job you do!— kwill
Dana DiFilippo has covered murder, mayhem and miscellany at the Daily News since 2000. She grew up in Delaware County and studied journalism and photography at Penn State University. E-mail tips to difilid@phillynews.com.
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Stephanie Farr has been reporting for the Daily News since 2007, covering everything from gay porn stars who entered the burglary business to moon trees, skinheads, murders and naked bike rides. She covers crime, both in the city and suburbs, and keeps clippings of bizarre Associated Press articles. Her favorite this year was the story about the drunk in Punxsutawney who gave mouth-to-mouth resuscitation to a dead opossum. E-mail tips to farrs@phillynews.com.
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Phillip Lucas joined the Daily News crime team in 2011. He grew up on the mean streets of Seattle and studied journalism and psychology at Howard University in Washington, D.C. Before landing in the City of Brotherly Love, Phillip was a reporter for The News Journal in Wilmington, Del. Email tips to lucasp@phillynews.com.
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Morgan Zalot is the newest crime reporter at the Daily News, starting in 2011 after interning at the paper twice as a Temple University journalism student. In her past stints at the DN, she covered just about everything, from drunken Phillies fans to a barber shop in a high school to a grisly murder-suicide. She’s a born-and-raised Philly girl who grew up in the Northeast. E-mail tips to zalotm@philly.com.
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