Off-duty officer fatally shoots man after car chase (Update, armed, not so dangerous, maybe)

Philadelphia Inquirer ^ | 03/07/06 | By Jeff Shields and Barbara Boyer

[Al Gator]

Off-duty officer fatally shoots man after car chase

The man had fled after hitting the officer's car.By Jeff Shields and Barbara BoyerInquirer Staff WritersAn off-duty Philadelphia police officer chased a driver who collided with his car to the Willow Grove train station, then shot the man to death when he charged toward the officer early yesterday morning, police said.

An autopsy was scheduled for today on the 22-year-old Philadelphia man, whose name was not released while authorities notified his family.

The officer, identified by Philadelphia police as Barry Sudler, 25, who joined the force two years ago, was questioned by Upper Moreland police and released yesterday. Risa Vetri Ferman, first assistant district attorney in Montgomery County, said that her office and Upper Moreland police were reviewing the case, but that preliminary evidence did not appear to warrant any charges in the shooting.

According to Ferman, Sudler had finished his shift at 4 a.m. in the 16th District in West Philadelphia. He was driving home through the Cedarbrook section about 4:20 a.m. when a car ran a stop sign near Wadsworth and Cheltenham Avenues, just south of the Montgomery County line, and hit his personal car, a silver Lexus, on the rear driver's side, she said.

The man said "My bad" and "I tried to stop," according to Sudler's account.

Sudler, wearing the striped pants of his uniform and a black turtleneck with "PPD" on the neck, stopped, identified himself as a police officer, and asked for the mans' driver's license, registration and insurance card, Ferman said. Sudler told police he suspected that the other driver might have been using drugs or alcohol.

As Sudler was trying to figure out where he was to call 911, the other man sped away, Ferman said.

[Al Gator]

Now for the rest of the story. New information, if it is correct, seems to put the off duty cop on really solid ground.

This is being investigated by Montgomery County DA office, so its pretty guaranteed that there will be no shinnanigins.

I truly hope this guy gets over the upset of killing someone, and has a long, good career.

[GeorgiaDawg32]

**sniff*..I love a happy ending..

[battlegearboat]

Something relatively new to the Tulsa area:

Illeagal aliens, riding around in beat-up autos, without insurance and totally ignorant of our traffic laws, are immediately let go by the police after they crash into me or someone else and they disappear into the weeds and leave me or someone else holding the bag.

Now I carry cameras and voice recorders when I drive...always!

[JimRed]

"My bad" comes out of my mouth a couple of times a game when I play basketball, but I don't remember ever using it in a traffic accident!