Aug. 26-- A group of five Philadelphia police officers in plainclothes shot a man in North Philadelphia early Saturday morning after, they say, he pulled out a gun and pointed it at them when he was forced to stop in the street.
Twenty-sixth District officers had their unmarked cars blocking the 2400 block of North Fourth Street as part of a narcotics investigation when a 2002 Mercury came "flying" down at high speed about 2:45 a.m., said Lt. Raymond Evers, a Philadelphia police spokesman. The officers were in the street in plainclothes when the driver slammed on his brakes and stopped just a few feet from them, Evers said.
As officers approached the car, one called out that the driver had a gun and pointed it at them. Five officers then discharged at least 20 bullets, Evers said, citing an Internal Affairs report.
Fleeing the gunfire, the driver threw the car in reverse and hit several parked cars as he drove down the block before finally coming to a stop near Fourth and Cumberland Streets.
Paramedics took the man to Temple University Hospital, Evers said, where he was reported late Saturday in critical condition.
The shooting was investigated by Internal Affairs and the District Attorney's Office, as is protocol when a police officer discharges a weapon. The driver's weapon, a 9mm Taurus pistol, was recovered in the car, Evers said.
Evers did not know whether the officers who were in plainclothes identified themselves as police when they approached the car. He noted that they were wearing protective vests that identified them as police.
The driver has been identified by police, but his name is being withheld while police notify family, Evers said. He is being identified as a Hispanic male in his early 30s.
Contact Jonathan Lai at 215-854-5151, [email protected], or on Twitter @elaijuh.
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