Philadelphia homeowner killed, officer injured in shootout
PHILADELPHIA— Police shot and killed a 59-year-old homeowner and wounded his wife Monday after a SWAT team showed up at 6 a.m. looking to arrest his grandson, and the man mistook them for intruders and opened fire, hitting one officer in the face.
Police Commissioner Richard Ross said the man — whom he did not identify but whom property and other public records identify as Ricardo Giddings — apparently began shooting in an attempt to protect his home. His wife, 67, was struck by a police round as she tried to run out of the house, Commissioner Ross said. She was hospitalized in stable condition.
The officer, Jaison Potts, 49, was able to walk into Temple University hospital but had to be sedated and was listed in critical condition. Commissioner Ross said Monday night that a bullet remained lodged in the officer’s jaw.
He said officers knocked and announced themselves several times before seeking to enter the Germantown home to arrest the man’s grandson, 20, wanted on weapons violations. Commissioner Ross said a television was on inside the home, so it was possible that the homeowner did not hear the warnings.
The grandson, whom police did not identify, was not there. He turned himself in to police later Monday, according to Commissioner Ross.
The commissioner called what happened in the the early-morning hours “an allout, absolute tragedy.” It was the fifth time in 2018 that city police have shot someone and the second fatal shooting, according to police statistics.
Officer Potts, a 20-year veteran of the force who is married and has three children, is expected to survive but will have a long recovery. He was expected to undergo surgery Tuesday, Commissioner Ross said.
Mayor Jim Kenney, who went to the hospital where Officer Potts was being treated, said the officer was supposed to start vacation after his shift ended Monday.
The shooting occurred about 6 a.m. Commissioner Ross said SWAT officers “knocked and announced their presence at least three times, indicating they had a search warrant at that address.”
When they did not receive a response, they broke through a front door, he said.
Inside, the man had grabbed a handgun, and thinking they were in danger, urged his wife to flee out the back of the house, Commissioner Ross said.
Before officers broke through a second door to gain entry to the house, the homeowner began shooting, according to the commissioner. He fired four bullets; one hit Officer Potts in the face near his jaw.
Officer Potts’ partner, whom Commissioner Ross did not identify, fired a shotgun five times in return, he said. At least one round hit the homeowner.
The man’s wife was struck in the stomach by a shotgun pellet that ricocheted before striking her, Commissioner Ross said. She also suffered back injuries trying to flee the house.
The homeowner and his wife were taken to Einstein Medical Center. He was later declared dead. She was listed late Monday in stable condition.
Commissioner Ross said SWAT officers serve about 300 warrants a year and had not fired a shot since 2015.