Award-winning cop wounded in shootout

A police officer recently honored for his service and commitment suffered a graze wound today in a shootout in Southwest Philadelphia with bandits fleeing an armored car heist.

Officer Adrian Hospedale, 43, was reported in stable condition at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania with a wound to the upper lip and gums.

One of the gunmen also was wounded and taken to HUP, where his condition was not immediately released. A second suspect was taken into custody.

Police gave the following account.

At about 10:30 a.m. two men disarmed an armored car guard loading at ATM at 52nd and Spruce Street in West Philadelphia and fled with a bag of cash in a black Mazda.

The guard alerted a marked police car, and it pursued the Mazda.

At 49th and Warrington, a gunman inside the Mazda fired at the police cruiser.

The Mazda then entered I-76 east, exiting at Passyunk and then heading west toward S. 63rd Street with police still in pursuit.

At 63rd and Grays Avenue in Southwest Philadelphia's Elmwood section, the Mazda crashed into a parked car and a shootout ensued.

A richochet apparently hit Officer Hospedale while the the gunman was wounded in his lower extremities.

Police recovered two handguns and a bag of cash at the scene, where the FBI joined the investigation.

At the hospital, Mayor Nutter commented on the latest shooting of an officer saying: "We're not going to put up with this kind of crap. We're going to do our job and we're not going to live in fear."

Four police officers have been fatally wounded by gunfire in the past two years.

Hospedale, 43, a beat cop in Southwest Philadelphia, was honored in June as recipient of the Daily News' Fencl award.

The award is given along with $1,000 to the officer who embodies the qualities compassion, professionalism and dedication.

According to the Daily News, Hopesdale preaches peace, respect and responsibly on his beat, earning him the affectionate nickname of Reverand Po-Po. (Po-Po is an expression in current fashion for the police.)

"All my life, I just wanted to make a difference," he told the newspaper. "I don't believe in negativity. To me, nothing is impossible."

The son of a Housing Authority police officer, Hopesdale grew up in West Philadelphia and joined the force October 1993.

He also is an associate pastor at Wynnefield Baptist Church.