BLACK w Gun: Philadelphia officer was shot then he fatally shoots man after being struck by his vehicle in Lawncrest: police

[The Bobster]

Philadelphia officer fatally shoots man after being struck by his vehicle in Lawncrest: police

The Philadelphia police officer is undergoing tests at Einstein Medical Center to determine the severity of his injuries.

www.cbsnews.com

Philadelphia officer fatally shoots man after being struck by his vehicle in Lawncrest: police​

By Tom Ignudo, Nikki DeMentri

Updated on: February 16, 2024 / 5:55 AM EST / CBS Philadelphia

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- A Philadelphia police officer shot and killed a man after the officer attempted to pull him over on Thursday night in Lawncrest, Police Commissioner Kevin Bethel said.

The officer was struck by the man's vehicle during the incident and is currently being evaluated at Jefferson Einstein Hospital.

Bethel said the 25th District officer was by himself when he went to stop the driver at F Street and Roosevelt Boulevard in the city's Olney neighborhood but was unsuccessful.

Then, three civilians blocked the street at the intersection of Adams and Newtown Avenues at around 7 p.m. in Lawncrest to help the officer, but Bethel claimed the witnesses told investigators the driver backed his vehicle into the officer's car.



Bethel said the officer got out of his vehicle and went to the driver's side door. The police officer was then struck and pinned up against a wall by the vehicle, Bethel claimed.



Bethel said witnesses then saw the officer fire "multiple shots into the car," striking the man.

The man then drove away. He was found unresponsive two and a half blocks away at Benner Street and Hasbrook Avenue and taken to Einstein, where he was pronounced dead. He was shot in the head and body, Bethel said.

Neither the officer nor the man shot have been identified.

Before the man drove away, Bethel said a passenger exited the vehicle and was detained by the witnesses at the scene. Bethel said police will speak to that person as a part of their investigation.



Bethel said the injured officer has eight years on the job. He's undergoing tests on his legs to determine the severity of his injuries.

Bethel also said Thursday night police have yet to speak to the officer about the shooting, but he was wearing a body camera and they have other video evidence.

The shooting is under investigation.

 

[Arheel's Uncle]

Gun used in shooting of Philadelphia-area officer also used in drive-by hours earlier, authorities say

A gun registered to the now-deceased Torraize Armstrong during a Saturday police confrontation was also used in a drive-by shooting earlier that day, according to authorities.

www.foxnews.com

Gun used in shooting of Philadelphia-area officer also used in drive-by hours earlier, authorities say​

Gun was registered to Torraize Armstrong, who was fatally shot during Saturday police confrontation​

Associated Press

Published February 19, 2024 7:20pm EST

• The gun brandished by Torraize Armstrong on Saturday during a deadly confrontation with police was reportedly used in a drive-by shooting earlier that day.
• Armstrong, 40, was fatally shot after wounding Chester Police Detective Steve Byrne.
• Byrne, who survived, "has become a hero for all of the people in the city of Chester by stopping a very dangerous human being," Delaware County District Attorney Jack Stollsteimer said.

Authorities say a gun used to wound a police detective following a chase in southeastern Pennsylvania on Saturday had been used to wound another person in a drive-by shooting earlier in the day.
Delaware County prosecutors and Chester police said Monday the gun belonged to 40-year-old Torraize Armstrong, who was shot and killed Saturday afternoon by return fire from wounded Chester Police Detective Steve Byrne and three other officers.

Byrne, hit once during the exchange of gunfire, was hospitalized but was discharged Monday and was recuperating at home with his family, officials said. District Attorney Jack Stollsteimer said he "has become a hero for all of the people in the city of Chester by stopping a very dangerous human being."

PENNSYLVANIA AUTHORITIES IDENTIFY POLICE OFFICER WOUNDED IN FATAL GUNFIRE EXCHANGE

He noted that Byrne was the third police officer wounded by gunfire in the county in about a week and a half.
Stollsteimer said officials had identified Armstrong as a suspect in an 11:30 a.m. Saturday drive-by shooting in Chester because the gunfire came from a black car registered to Armstrong. The car was spotted Saturday afternoon, and it was pursued from Chester into Upland and back into Chester, where it blew a tire and Armstrong emerged, officials said.

Armstrong "literally began firing the moment he got out of the vehicle," using a 9 mm semi-automatic weapon to fire at officers, wounding Byrne, Stollsteimer said. Byrne returned fire as did two Upland officers and a Chester Township officer.

A gun used in the non-fatal shooting of a Pennsylvania police officer was reportedly also used in an earlier drive-by assault. (FOX News)
Armstrong, hit several times, died Saturday evening at Crozer-Chester Medical Center. An initial ballistics examination identified as Armstrong's gun as the same weapon used in the earlier drive-by shooting, Stollsteimer said.

"The officers returned fire both to save their lives — as you know, Detective Byrne was actually shot by him — but also to protect people in the community," Stollsteimer said.

Steven Gretsky, Chester’s police commissioner, said Byrne has 16 years with the department and is one of its senior detectives. He was actually scheduled to be off Saturday but was called in as the lead investigator on the drive-by shooting, Gretsky said.

Stollsteimer's office is handling the investigation and said while more work needs to be done, "all of the officers who discharged their weapons were completely justified in doing so."

On Feb. 7, two police officers in another part of the county were wounded by gunfire at a home in East Lansdowne that then burned down, with six sets of human remains later recovered from the ashes. Stollsteimer blamed the violence on what he called "a culture of affinity for weapons" that is destroying communities.

"We have too many people with guns who shouldn't have those guns," he said, noting that on the day of the East Lansdowne violence authorities were announcing first-degree murder charges against a 15-year-old boy in the killing of another 15-year-old boy with a "ghost gun," a privately-made firearm lacking serial numbers and largely untraceable.

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"There is no way in this rational world that a 15-year-old boy should get his hand on a junk gun that only exists so that criminals can go out and commit crimes without there being a serial number to trace that back to," he said.

 

[Arheel's Uncle]

Torraize Armstrong

Suspect identified after police chase, deadly officer-involved shooting in Delaware County

The driver, identified as 40-year-old Torraize Armstrong, reportedly got out of the car and began firing.

6abc.com

Suspect identified after police chase, deadly officer-involved shooting in Delaware County​

The driver, identified as 40-year-old Torraize Armstrong, reportedly got out of the car and began firing at police.
By Walter Perez and Katie Katro
Monday, February 19, 2024 9:55PM

Suspect identified after police chase, deadly officer-involved shooting in Delaware County

CHESTER, Pennsylvania (WPVI) -- A suspect who was shot and killed during a police chase and officer-involved shooting in Delaware County was identified on Monday.
Authorities also say the officer involved in this shooting, a 16-year-veteran on the Chester police force, is at home recovering after being shot.

Detective Steve Byrne with Chester police
The incident began Saturday morning in Chester, Pennsylvania, after police received reports of a drive-by shooting.
Detective Steve Byrne, who initially had the day off, came in to help with the investigation, officers say.
Hours later, Byrne found a vehicle matching the description of the one involved in the drive-by.
When Byrne attempted to stop the vehicle, a police pursuit began.
WATCH | Authorities provide updates on police chase, deadly officer-involved shooting in Chester, Pa.

Delaware County authorities provide update after officer injured in weekend shooting
It ended in Chester when the driver of the suspect vehicle crashed on West 14th Street and Arbor Drive.
The driver, identified as 40-year-old Torraize Armstrong, reportedly got out of the car and began firing.

"He jumped out of the car, and that individual, Torraize Armstrong, literally began opening fire at the moment he got out of the vehicle," said District Attorney Jack Stollsteimer.
Officers say he struck Byrne in the side before officers fired back, striking Armstrong repeatedly.
"Mr. Armstrong was killed by that gunfire. He was wounded several times and was brought to the hospital, Crozer-Chester, where he died, I think Saturday evening," said Stollsteimer.
Byrne was also transported to Crozer-Chester Medical Center.
Initial reports on Saturday stated Byrne had been shot twice, but officials clarified that the officer was wearing a tactical vest and only one bullet struck his side, which wasn't covered by the vest.
"So far, we had it that he was struck twice, but speaking with the doctors, he was actually struck once, but it went in and out on his left side," noted Chester Police Commissioner Steven Gretsky.
Gretsky offered an update on Byrne's condition on Monday.
"We just received some good news. He was just released over the last two hours where he's home safe with his family," said Gretsky.
"The doctor walked in while I was there and gave him his discharge papers. He was with his wife, his mother -- who flew in from Florida -- and his grandmother. What a special moment that was," noted Chester Mayor Stefan Roots.
"Thank you for all your thoughts and prayers, it worked," Roots added.
Police also confirmed that the gun Armstrong used in the officer-involved shooting was the same gun from the drive-by incident.
According to court documents, this was not Armstrong's first brush with the law. Reports reveal that he has a history of violent behavior, including a conviction for an accident involving death.
"Detective Byrne once again has become a hero for people in the City of Chester by stopping a very dangerous human being," said Stollsteimer.
Chester's Fraternal Order of Police president says he needs more officers to combat the violence that has plagued the city. He says over the last six years, the police department lost about 50 officers.
"We really have to do a better job here in Chester of retaining and recruiting officers, otherwise you're going to have issues like this happen," said President Jonathan Ross.
This shooting marks the third officer that has been shot in Delaware County within two weeks.