Philly police shooting suspect was driving unregistered car, sources say

The man who shot a Philadelphia police officer in Kensington over the weekend spent about 30 minutes with police during what began as a routine traffic stop before officers found a gun near the driver's seat of his car and he fled and opened fire, Police Commissioner Kevin Bethel said Monday.

Ramon Rodriguez Vazquez, 36, was stopped by officers while driving a Toyota sedan on the 3500 block of F Street for lacking proper registration and a driver's license. Bethel said the encounter was initially unremarkable. Vazquez spoke to officers, made a phone call, and three people came to the scene in an attempt to convince police officers not to impound his car.

“It was a normal stop,” Bethel said.

But when officers did a final search of Vazquez's car and loaded it onto a flatbed, one of them found the holster. When officers agreed to talk to Vazquez about it, Vazquez fled, Deputy Commissioner Frank Vanore said.

Within seconds, Vazquez turned and began firing with a gun strapped to his waistband, hitting an officer in the neck, Vanore said. Vazquez then tried to take refuge in a nearby garage but was pushed back, and he also tried to carjack a minivan, Vanore said. He eventually ran into a home where a resident was sitting on the porch, then threatened the person at gunpoint and attempted to barricade himself inside a bedroom.

SWAT officers took Vazquez into custody at that home Saturday night, Vanore said. According to sources familiar with the case, Vazquez later confessed to shooting at the officers, saying he did it because he didn’t want to go to jail.

These details bring new clarity to the incident that left the officer hospitalized and seriously injured. Police have declined to identify the officer — a 31-year-old assigned to the 25th District who has been on the force for six years — saying his family does not want his name released, and the department only releases the name of an injured officer when the officer gives permission. Bethel said Monday that the officer was wearing a respirator and was “fighting” for his life.

Meanwhile, Vazquez was arraigned Monday morning on charges including attempted murder and aggravated assault on an officer, illegal gun possession, evading arrest, burglary and kidnapping. Court records show he remains jailed on $12.5 million bail. He is being represented by the Defender Association of Philadelphia, which did not respond to a request for comment.

Assistant District Attorney Robert Wainwright said Vazquez committed “an absolutely disgusting, cowardly act.”

Authorities said much of the incident was captured on video, including bodycams worn by officers. And surveillance video obtained by The Inquirer showed a man who resembles Vazquez running down nearby Kingston Street several times, including after the shooting, when he appears to be holding a gun in his hand.

Bethel said it was shocking and “stupid” that Vazquez decided to flee and open fire after a long and relatively calm conversation with police.

Although Vazquez has no prior arrests in Pennsylvania, he was arrested in 2011 for shooting two police officers in Puerto Rico.

Vazquez, 21 at the time, and another man, José M. Serrano Ares, 24, stole an SUV at gunpoint and then opened fire on two police officers, according to a report in the news magazine Periodico Impacto Noreste. Both were charged with crimes including attempted murder and firearms violations, but it was not immediately clear what happened in the case or whether Vazquez was ultimately convicted of the crime.

What happened in the shootout?

According to Vanore, the car was stopped just after 7:15 p.m. Saturday after officers noticed Vazquez’s sedan lacked paper tags and registration.

When officers stopped Vazquez and discovered he was driving without a license, they called the parking authority to send a tow truck to the scene. The tow driver arrived immediately, and Vazquez called relatives to ask for help, Vanore said. Vazquez's sister, brother-in-law and girlfriend all showed up and tried to convince police not to impound the car, sources said.

Still, the encounter went on without incident for the next half-hour, according to Vanore. Vazquez and three other men conversed with police in Spanish, and were allowed to remove items from the car before it was placed on a tow truck. But once an officer noticed the holster, Vanore said, Vazquez ran and fired three shots from a gun in his waistband “without any provocation.”

The officer who was shot was shot in the neck and immediately fell to the ground, police said. His partner returned fire, but it missed Vazquez, police said.

Vanore said his partner and the tow truck driver then put the officer in a patrol car, and the partner took him to Temple University Hospital.

Meanwhile, Vazquez began running around the neighborhood looking for a place to hide. Vanore said he removed his shirt before breaking into a garage on G Street, then tried unsuccessfully to rob a minivan on Tioga Street.

About 15 minutes after the shooting, Vazquez ran to the 800 block of E. Schiller Street, where he saw a man in his 20s drinking alcohol in front of his home, Vanore said.

Vazquez forced the man inside the home at gunpoint, Vanore said. At one point, Vazquez took the man's phone and tried to buy a plane ticket to leave the country, sources familiar with the investigation said.

However, Vazquez let the man go after a while. The man then went outside and reported the incident to police, after which SWAT officers came to the home and took Vazquez into custody, Vanore said.

How did the neighbors react?

Neighbors on Monday expressed a variety of emotions about the crime and its aftermath.

Robert Levin, the owner of an industrial warehouse on F Street, said he “doesn’t feel good” knowing that a police officer was shot and killed just outside his business.

“What happens in this setting is not unusual,” Levin said Monday outside his warehouse, steps from the crime scene. “I see shootings in Kensington all the time,” he said. “This time, it was done by me.”

A Kingston Street resident, who requested anonymity for fear of retaliation, said he heard gunfire Saturday and captured some surveillance footage of Vazquez fleeing the scene. The man said he feels the neighborhood has become less safe lately, but he and his wife stay in the city because their daughter is a Philadelphia police officer — and she is friends with the officer who was injured Saturday night.

“It's not safe here. We have to be with cameras, and [that] Permit [us] To feel safe,” the man said. “You’re a prisoner in your own home.”

A neighbor of Vazquez, who requested anonymity for fear of retaliation, described him as a “real nice guy” who cared about the block and the people who lived there. After the incident, he said, he saw Vazquez's girlfriend come back to clean up what was left after police searched their home.

“She fell into my arms and started crying, you could feel the pain,” the neighbour said.

Attempts to contact Vazquez's relatives were unsuccessful Monday.

Meanwhile, the police department said the officer's relatives had asked for privacy to ensure he is being cared for at the hospital.

Vazquez is scheduled to appear in court for a preliminary hearing in early July. Authorities said they do not expect to charge others with him, but the incident is still under investigation.