Federal investigation sought in police shooting

[Rezin]

I posted this original thread when it happened... Gee, never saw this coming, lol.


Note the perp had a "lengthy criminal record"



By JODI SPIEGEL ARTHUR
Bucks County Courier Times

WILLOW GROVE - The mother of a man killed by an off-duty Philadelphia police officer at the Willow Grove Train Station last week is calling for a federal investigation into the shooting.

Tracy Shields of Detroit and as many as 20 family members and friends staged a protest on Monday outside a police station in West Philadelphia. The officer involved in the shooting had been assigned to that station, according to media reports.

Tracy Shields said her son, 22-year-old Kevin Shields, was “murdered” by the off-duty police officer identified as Barry Sudler, 25, of Philadelphia.

“I want to make a change to prevent this from happening again,” Tracy Shields said.

Sudler told authorities he shot Kevin Shields because he thought Shields was reaching for a gun. The two men ended up at the train station early March 6 after Sudler chased Shields from Philadelphia, where they were involved in a traffic accident and Sudler identified himself as a police officer.

Shields died of a gunshot wound to the head.

“There are (other) ways to subdue people,” Tracy Shields said. “We're all still devastated by the whole thing.”

Montgomery County First Assistant District Attorney Risa Ferman said the case is still under investigation and declined to comment on Shields' call for a federal investigation.


Philadelphia Police Capt. Benjamin Naish, a spokesman, said the officer involved in the shooting is on administrative duty. The department's civil affairs department monitored the protest, which he said included about a dozen people.

Kevin Shields, of the 8100 block of Rugby Street in Philadelphia, had a lengthy criminal record and was wanted by Michigan authorities for probation violations on two felony drug delivery cases, according to authorities in Montgomery County and in Wayne County, Mich.

His mother said he was in Pennsylvania legally and was not on the run.

Kevin Shields had been staying with his cousin, Anthony Shields, who said Kevin Shields had been in and out of work. Anthony Shields had said he had been “trying to help him stay on the straight and narrow.”

Shields spent his early youth in Philadelphia and his teen years in Detroit, his cousin said.

 

[Janitor]

Shields died of a gunshot wound to the head.

“There are (other) ways to subdue people,” Tracy Shields said.

Yup. A couple rounds to COM can work well also.

 

[Pilgrim]

His mother said he was in Pennsylvania legally and was not on the run.

He probably thought he was safe in PA.

“I want to make a change to prevent this from happening again,” Tracy Shields said.

Stop breeding?

Pilgrim

 

[Rezin]

Off-duty Phila. cop cleared in shooting

By MELISSA MILEWSKI
Bucks County Courier Times

An off-duty Philadelphia police officer who shot and killed a man at the Willow Grove train station after a car chase will not face criminal charges, the Montgomery County District Attorney said Tuesday.

The victim, Kevin Shields, was heard ordering Officer Barry Sudler out of his car and threatening to kill him during a 20-minute recording of Sudler's 911 call.

The threats were among several factors that led the Montgomery County District Attorney's Office to conclude that Sudler, a 25-year-old Philadelphia resident, was justified in using deadly force on March 6.

Toxicology tests showed that Shields had Ecstasy in his system and a blood alcohol level more than three times the legal limit, Montgomery County District Attorney Bruce Castor said.

The combination of substances could have caused Shields to hallucinate and behave in an “aggressive, unpredictable manner,” Castor said, citing information from forensic toxicology experts.

Shields, 22, of the 8100 block of Rugby Street in Philadelphia, had a lengthy criminal record and was wanted by Michigan authorities on felony drug charges when he was killed.

Castor said Shields would have “gone to any length to avoid capture and extradition to Michigan, including killing Officer Sudler.”

Shields' mother, Tracy, said she is too busy handling her son's funeral arrangements on Tuesday to be angry about the district attorney's decision.

“I've already been angry. I'm beyond angry,” she said.

Shields' funeral is scheduled for Thursday in Philadelphia.

On Monday, Tracy Shields called for a federal investigation into her son's shooting. She staged a protest outside a police station in West Philadelphia.

Tracy Shields said authorities are trying to discredit her son. She said the officer who shot her son needs to be fired.


“I'm ready to move forward and fight,” Tracy Shields said. “I've been seeking counsel, and they [her attorneys] have to do an investigation. They have to gather the evidence.”

Castor said Shields initiated a confrontation with Sudler when they both pulled into the train station after the officer followed Shields through Philadelphia, Cheltenham, Abington and Willow Grove in Upper Moreland.

Sudler said the chase started when Shields ran a stop sign and hit his car.

When the two men got to the train station, “Shields got out of his car, moved toward the officer and screamed expletives and obscenities at Officer Sudler,” Castor said during a news conference on Tuesday.

He said Shields reached toward the waistband of his pants, as if he was going to draw a gun, as he inched closer to Sudler. The officer initially fired three shots but all missed Shields, but he continued to yell at Sudler.

Shields yelled and threatened to shoot Sudler, Castor said. Sudler fired two more shots; one hit Shields in the face.

Shields did not have a weapon. Authorities found $400, a handcuff key and his driver's license tucked in one of his shoes.

Earlier on March 6, Shields was stopped by Philadelphia police at about 2:30 a.m. for driving the wrong way down a one-way street. He did not give police identification and told police his name was Rujai Vantrikt, who is a friend of one of Shields' relatives, Castor said.

On Feb. 17, Philadelphia police charged Shields with DUI. He again gave Philadelphia false name, Castor said. He was photographed but police did not take his fingerprints.

 

[DunedinDragon]

Ahhhhh!!!! That's what it was!!!! A new type of field sobriety test the officer was adminstering.

"Okay, stand here and try and dodge these bullets as they come toward you.."

 

[Thefabulousfink]

This Shields sounds like an all-around winner.

Hey Mamma Shields, if you don't want you sons shot or in jail then lock them in the house until you can keep them off drugs, teach them some manners, and teach them not to be morons around cops.

But If that's too much for you then go ahead and try and blame a police officer for helping to clear out a waste of space.

 

[Mongo the Mutterer]

The officer initially fired three shots but all missed Shields, but he continued to yell at Sudler.

Okay, here a couple observations:

1. The officer should have trained better.

2. Shields CONTINUED TO YELL at the officer AFTER BEING FIRED UPON?

3. Darwin wins again.

4. When will the newspaper consider that a protest of 20 people over a dead thug is not news? Answer = never.

 

[Deavis]

a handcuff key

Somebody was expecting to get in trouble...

 

[CAnnoneer]

One less loser in the gene pool. Humanity, rejoice! Hopefully, Mrs Shields is menopausal by now.

The officer should be reprimanded for dangerously ineffective shooting and wasting taxpayer ammunition. He should take a remedial shooting course. What if the perp were armed? Missing four times could have been the last thing the officer ever did...