An off-duty cop in Philly shot and killed a man who weaponized his vehicle on Monday morning- and the police commissioner seems more concerned with the number of times the suspect was shot than anything else.
31-year-old Khalil Lawal reportedly used his Honda Civic to strike a man who was exiting a parked car, with investigators believing the act was intentional. Witnesses also reported that Lawal was targeting other pedestrians who had to jump out of the way to avoid being hit.
At the time of the incident, a Good Samaritan reportedly used his truck to block the attacker’s path, telling Lawal that he had witnessed the hit-and-run. In response, Lawal then chased the Good Samaritan on foot before walking back to his car.
However, Lawal was not home-free: an off-duty detective (who was carrying his issued sidearm at the time) witnessed the suspect chasing off the citizen do-gooder and approached him, identifying himself and ordering the suspect to the ground.
Weapon drawn, the detective likely did not expect the 6-foot tall, 250-pound man to charge him and attempt to take his issued sidearm.
“They got into a violent struggle where the male struck the detective several times,” said Philadelphia Police Commissioner Richard Ross.
Witnesses report hearing a lot of shots in an incident that was caught on security footage.
Shot several times during the encounter, the suspect was MEDEVACed and later died at a hospital. The detective was treated for head and shoulder injuries, but later released.
However, in the aftermath of the incident (which has resulted in the detective being placed on administrative leave as investigators examine the event) Police Commissioner Ross seems hung up on the number of shots fired during a close-quarters struggle.
“I do have some concerns about the shooting, in particular whether all the shots were necessary,” Ross said. “Right now we’re canvassing the neighborhood for more video and additional witnesses.”
To add insult to injury for the detective, authorities have now downgraded the suspect’s motives from “domestic terrorism” to “unknown,” despite initial police claims that Lawal had multiple targets.
“Right now we have not been able to confirm this at all,” Ross said. “The only thing we know is of this one incident at this point in time that we are still investigating.”
According to NBC10, Lawal sustained wounds in the torso, legs and face during the scuffle.
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