PHILADELPHIA – Slain Philadelphia Police Cpl. James O’Connor IV has been posthumously promoted to sergeant, Commissioner Danielle Outlaw said.
Murder and related charges against Hassan Elliott, 21, were also filed Wednesday.
O’Connor and fellow SWAT officers were seeking to arrest Elliott on a murder warrant Friday when Elliott reportedly began firing a rifle through a closed door inside his apartment, fatally striking O’Connor in an arm and shoulder, police have said.
Outlaw delivered her remarks while surrounded by members of O’Connor’s family, nearly all of whom work in law enforcement, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported. O’Connor’s father was a Philadelphia police officer for four decades, his son serves in the city’s Sixth District, his daughter-in-law serves in the 35th District, and his daughter is a military police officer in the Air Force, said Staff Inspector Sekou Kinebrew, a police spokesperson.
Outlaw said O’Connor “is and will always be a hero in every sense of the word.”
“Even though a lot of us here are still continuing on, we do that to make sure that we continue to pay our respects and honor the ultimate sacrifice that was paid by our colleague,” she said.
