Posted on 04/26/2014 2:14:29 PM PDT by nickcarraway
Philippe Holland was described by neighbors as a friendly, hardworking young man who held two jobs, including the pizza delivery gig. Court records showed he was arrested last week for simple assault for chucking a cellphone at his girlfriend.
A pizza delivery guy who was shot by two plainclothes Philadelphia cops was working two jobs to put himself through school and a kind, considerate neighbor, people who know him said.
"He was a great neighbor, I love that you couldn't ask for a nicer neighbor," Roy Taylor, who lived on shooting victim Philippe Holland's block in Upper Darby, Pa., told CBS Philly.
Another neighbor, Christine Harris, told the station Holland was quick with a smile and a wave hello.
"He's always trying to have conversations with people on the block, always trying to have block parties," Harris said.
He did, however, have a police record and was out on bail at the time of the shooting, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported
Upper Darby police said Holland was arrested last week for simple assault for allegedly chucking a cellphone at his girlfriend during an argument. The woman was hit, but not seriously hurt.
The 20-year-old remained in critical condition at University of Pennsylvania Hospital Thursday after cops shot him in the head, neck and leg during a chilling encounter in West Philadelphia on Tuesday night.
20-year-old Philippe Holland is in critical condition after he was shot by plain-clothed police who were responding to reports of shots fired in the area. Holland was delivery a hamburger when he was approached.
The officers were responding to reports of gunshots in the West Philly neighborhood when they tried to stop Holland for questioning, police said.
The hardworking young delivery man had made his last delivery of the night a cheeseburger meal to a house in the Kingsessing neighborhood and was walking to his car when the plainclothes pair identified themselves and tried to stop him.
They were checking on reports of gunshots in the area and spotted Holland walking with his hands in his pockets and his hood up, police said.
Holland may not have heard them or was afraid the men were muggers when he got into his gold Ford Taurus and drove off, police said.
As the car sped toward them, the officers opened fire, blasting at least 14 shots and striking Holland three times. Philadelphia Police Chief Charles Ramsey told the Inquirer he visited the gravely wounded young man in the hospital Wednesday.
The round that hit him in the head damaged his eyesight, though it was unclear if the injury would be permanent, the newspaper reported.
20-year-old Philippe Holland is in critical condition after he was shot by plain-clothed police who were responding to reports of shots fired in the area. Holland was delivery a hamburger when he was approached.
The cops opened fire on Holland's Ford Taurus after he pulled out of his parking space and sped toward them. Police have said he may have thought the men were trying to mug him.
Ramsey told the newspaper the officers who shot him "feel terrible.
"It's just unfortunate all around and we're just praying that this young man is able to fully recover,"
"This is a young man who has two jobs" and a good family, Ramsey told the newspaper.
In addition delivering food for Upper Darby pizza parlor Slices and More, Ramsey worked as a baggage handler for Philadelphia International Airport, CBS Philly reported.
His boss at the pizza shop called him a model employee, a "nice, clean young guy."
"He came into work early, never said no to anything," Tony Spirokostas told the station.
The two officers have not been identified.
One of them was a five-year veteran, while the other was on the force for about a year, police said. Both have been placed on desk duty while internal affairs units investigated the shooting.
Well at least the armed city thugs feel bad...
Dammit! We said NO Anchovies . . .
Must have carrying a concealed dog without a permit...
I hope the guy gets set for life. The reason why he sped towards the cops is probably because he was driving normally and they jumped in front of him. I’ve had cops do that to me in uniform. If they had did that to me undercover, I wouldn’t stop either.
Farce Enlawment at its finest...
Just...Dang!
Well, I hope he makes it. He’s young enough to turn his life around.
At least in this instance the Police Chief is not saying his men were following the letter of the law and he stands behind their actions. So these police may learn from this. If the young man survives, it may be in a diminished capacity. My question is why is this article written in this manner. The story is fragmented and those fragments are repeated about three times in only a few sentences. Maybe this is how it looks when computers produce or ‘write’ a story after various and sundry facts are added to the blender.
My guess is two black cops approached him, and did not identify themselves. That's the thing about using black plainclothes cops - both thugs and civilians are liable to view them as bad guys.
Poor guy. I hope he fully recovers and sues. Two thugs come at me, in plain clothes, in a regular car, and I’m getting the heck out of there too. Cops are out of control.
I am sure they really feel terrible that the guy is still alive. Dead men tell no tales. I have no doubt they will skate, however.
I guess it's all good, then!
More important than anything else in the world is that the cops went home safely that night. Absolutely nothing else matters.
Well, the important thing is the cops made it home safe. /s
Lawsuit money in such cases comes from we the taxpayers. The officers and the police district do not suffer at all.
LOL!!!!
Uh, duh....these “journalists” went to college after a tough high school education, but nowhere was English and writing mandatory.Instead they had “self esteem” courses.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.