Police taser suspect to end wild chase in W. Mt. Airy

Larry Boyd had a bad day, all around.

He started Thursday morning by getting into an argument with his wife, and ended the day in jail after being shot and Tasered by Philadelphia police.

In between, he drove his Ford SUV into the fence around his West Mount Airy home, ran down a police officer and crashed into at least six cars and a UPS truck, authorities said.

Witness Armando Rivero watched officers as they eventually surrounded Boyd and pulled him from his vehicle.

"He didn't want to get out. He fought them all the way," Rivero said. "They had to carry him away, literally."

Boyd, 59, faces numerous charges, including aggravated assault. He was treated at Albert Einstein Medical Center Thursday for injuries including a bullet graze.

He was released from the hospital in the afternoon and was being processed at Northwest Detectives Thursday evening.

The officer Boyd struck with his vehicle also was treated at Einstein for injuries to his leg or ankle, said Lt. Frank Vanore, a police spokesman. Vanore said the officer was expected to recover.

A second officer who fired his weapon at Boyd was placed on desk duty pending the outcome of an investigation, which is standard practice.

Officers responded about 11:10 a.m. Thursday to a 911 call for a domestic dispute and vandalism at a home at Lincoln Drive and West Hortter Street.

Vanore did not know the nature of the argument or how it escalated to the point where Boyd began bashing his vehicle into the fence and other property.

Officers surrounded Boyd's Ford after he had wedged it next to a tree, Rivero said, but Boyd revved the engine until he dislodged the vehicle.

Vanore said that was when Boyd struck one officer and the second fired several shots. Boyd also struck a police vehicle.

He then crashed into the rear of an SUV waiting at the Lincoln Drive intersection. That vehicle rear-ended Rivero's Toyota Camry.

"He just pushed it out of the way," Rivero said. "He just kept going."

Boyd continued into the 500 block of West Hortter Street, where he bounced off several parked cars and hit a UPS truck, Vanore said.

Officers again surrounded Boyd and shot him with a Taser, he said.

No one else was injured in the wild sequence of events.

Contact staff writer Troy Graham at 215-854-2730 or tgraham@phillynews.com.