New Castle County police sent to find a Philadelphia man injured in an officer-involved shooting in that city earlier Wednesday ended up killing the man after an unspecified altercation, county police said.
It was the department’s first use of force incident that resulted in death in nearly five years.
Officers were dispatched about 7:45 p.m. Wednesday to the 100 block of Carriage Way in Coachman’s Manor in search of the 28-year-old man believed to be injured in the area, said Officer First Class JP Piser, a spokesman for the county department.
When police found him, he ran from officers and entered the driver’s side of a vehicle to get away, Piser said.
“An officer attempted to apprehend the suspect when the suspect engaged in conduct which resulted in the officer discharging the officer’s departmentally issued handgun,” Piser said in a written statement.
Police did not detail what exactly occurred between the man and the officer, described as two-year veteran of the department. But whatever transpired involved the vehicle continuing into Rogers Manor Park, where the man was found with apparent gunshot wounds, Piser said. The officer was treated for injuries sustained in the altercation, Piser said.
A New Castle County patrol vehicle at the scene showed damage on one side, and another vehicle cordoned off in the crime scene also was smashed in places. County police did not comment on damage to the patrol vehicle or what kind of vehicle the man drove.
