The Philadelphia officer who shot and killed a 12-year-old boy as he fled from police this month will be fired for the use of “excessive force,” the city’s police commissioner announced Tuesday.
Police said the plainclothes officer, who has not been identified, fatally shot 12-year-old Thomas Siderio in the back on March 1, moments after a bullet was fired into an unmarked police car.
A police investigation determined the officer violated the department’s use of force directives, Philadelphia Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw said at a Tuesday news conference. The officer has been suspended with the intent to fire him after 30 days, she said.
“Without going into details, I will just say that based off of the evidence that I reviewed, it was clear that the use of force policy was violated,” Outlaw said. “…Our policy clearly states that excessive force will not be tolerated.”
She added, “It’s tragic that we had one of our own again go against everything who we say we are.”
Outlaw said evidence suggests Siderio was the one who fired the bullet into the police car – a detail disputed by an attorney representing Siderio’s father. Outlaw had previously said “a young child with a gun in their hand purposely fired a weapon at our officers,” but Deputy Commissioner Ben Naish said at a news conference last week that he could not definitively say if it was Siderio who shot the gun.
There is no available body camera footage of the incident because plainsclothes officers are not required to wear them, Naish said. Police say they are trying to gather surveillance footage from the area.
Conor Corcoran, the attorney representing Siderio’s father, told USA TODAY he was pleased that “the Philadelphia Police Department is beginning to accept responsibility for the murder of TJ Siderio.” But he decried speculation over whether the boy had a gun, adding that no gunpowder residue was found on his hands.
“Therefore, it’s egregious of the police department to claim that TJ fired any weapon at all,” he said.
Four officers wearing plainclothes were in an unmarked car around 7:30 p.m. March 1 as part of a firearms violation investigation when they saw two boys at a corner, according to police statement. The officers recognized one of them, a 17-year-old, as someone wanted for questioning in the investigation, police said.
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The officers activated the car’s red and blue lights and drove toward the boys before they heard a gunshot and glass shattered from the rear passenger’s window, according to the statement. Shards of glass struck one officer in his face and eyes, police said.
Two other officers exited the car and fired at Siderio, who police claim was running away while holding a gun, Outlaw said. One of the officers continued to chase Siderio and fired two more times, striking him in the upper right side of his back, she added. The bullet exited through Siderio’s chest and he was pronounced dead that night at a hospital.
Naish said last week that he could not say whether officers told Siderio to stop or to drop the gun.
All four officers involved in the incident were placed on administrative leave during the investigation, Outlaw said. Police have not released their names, citing safety concerns.
Corcoran said he filed a civil lawsuit last Thursday against the officers involved in the shooting.
“Justice will be served by the civil litigation process running its due course,” he said.
The Philadelphia District Attorney’s office told NBC News it expects developments in the case this week but did not say whether charges would be filed against any of the officers.
Contact Breaking News Reporter Christine Fernando at cfernando@usatoday.com or follow her on Twitter at @christinetfern.
Source: GANNETT Syndication Service
