City cop arrested for third time

In his final official action as Philadelphia police commissioner, Charles Ramsey did what he had done far too many times before during his tenure - he fired a cop, according to police spokesman Lt. John Stanford.

But the case of Ofc. Deric Lewis is particularly unique because Ramsey had already fired Lewis once before - in 2010 - after he was arrested for the second time on charges of simple assault and recklessly endangering another person.

Somehow though, as is so often the case in Philadelphia, the twice-arrested officer got his job back and was working as a cop in Philly's 19th District when Upper Darby police responded to the home Lewis shares with his wife on Drexel Avenue near Bloomfield around midnight on Dec. 28.

According to Upper Darby police Superintendent Michael Chitwood, Lewis' wife called 9-1-1 and told the operator "'Please hurry. He has a gun and he's going to kill me.'"

But when Upper Darby cops arrived on scene, both Lewis and his wife "turned against the police," Chitwood said. Lewis refused to give his identity to police and started cussing and pointing in the face of one of the officers, according to Chitwood.

When Lewis was told to back up and refused, the cop put his hand on Lewis' chest to "create a separation," Chitwood said, and Lewis slapped the officer's hand away and "continued to be disorderly."

His wife was "noncooperative" throughout the incident, Chitwood said.

Lewis was charged with simple assault and two counts of harassment for his conduct towards police, Chitwood said.

A woman answered the phone at a number listed for Lewis. She could be heard talking with Lewis in the background. When asked if he would like to comment, the woman refused to give the phone to Lewis and said: "I'm sure he doesn't give a s--t about what you write. He's on his way back to work right now."

However, police said that Lewis had been suspended for 30 days on Jan. 4, with the intent to dismiss. Stanford, the police spokesman, said he would check on when Lewis' suspension started.

Stanford also said he would look into why Lewis was still on the force after being arrested twice before.

Court records appear to indicate that both of the prior cases against Lewis were withdrawn when the witness failed to appear in court.

Stanford said if cops are the victims and witnesses in this case, it's more likely to move forward.

"This time, if the assault is against police, I'm pretty sure those officers will be responding to the hearing," he said.