Commissioner Ramsey Says Police Use of Deadly Force Is A Delicate Balance
By Jim Melwert
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- It was a violent day on the streets of Philadelphia yesterday, bringing the number of police-involved shootings in just the past week to seven.
The third police-involved shooting of the day happened around 10:30 last night, on the 4500 block of Wayne Avenue in Germantown. Officers say a man allegedly shooting at two other people refused to drop his gun when ordered, so they opened fire, fatally wounding the man (see related stories).
The other two police-involved shootings, were in Southwest Philadelphia in the afternoon and in North Philadelphia in the morning. Neither of those was fatal.
Police commissioner Charles Ramsey, speaking with KYW Newsradio by phone from the Major City Police Chiefs Association meeting in Dallas, says it's a delicate balance protecting police officers in violent situations:
"Listen, I've also had a lot of cops get shot and killed since I've been in Philadelphia, so I do believe there are a lot of threats and dangerous situations they find themselves in."
The commissioner has requested a private consultant funded by the US Department of Justice to review police department policies and training in hopes of reducing the need for deadly force.
