Officials release new surveillance video of deadly Philadelphia police-involved shooting
PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- Officials released new surveillance video Tuesday from last week's deadly police-involved shooting that injured an officer and left a man dead in North Philadelphia.
Philadelphia police and the district attorney's office partnered to release the video, sharing two angles from inside the store.
WATCH: Full surveillance video of deadly Philadelphia police-involved shooting
WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT - VIEWER DISCRETION ADVISED
"Today is the day for the public to see the truth about what it is that is visible and occurred inside of the store," Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner said during Tuesday's press conference.
"I want to acknowledge my officers who were involved in a difficult and life-threatening situation," said Philadelphia Police Commissioner Kevin Bethel, noting that the department remains extremely limited in the type of information they can release at this time.
The shooting happened on January 26 inside Jennifer Tavern on the corner of N. Mascher and W. Cambria streets.
Alexander Spencer, 28, was shot and killed during a scuffle with police. During that scuffle, officials say Spencer fired a shot, hitting one of the officers in the leg. This prompted the injured officer's partner to return fire, according to police.
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The officer who fired the shot has been identified as 33-year-old Ofc. Raheem Hall of the 24th Police District. He is a 6-year veteran of the force.
The officers were on routine patrol in the area while also keeping an eye out for a person wanted in a recent non-fatal shooting, Bethel said.
In the newly released video, one of the officers walks into the store, asking if anyone has a gun and checking waistbands.
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"One of the bystanders apparently says something that alerted the group and that often heightened the officer's presence," Bethel said.
The officer then gets to Spencer and signals to his partner that he is armed.
The two officers and Spencer are seen in a short scuffle on the ground before you hear a shot and see blood coming from the leg of an officer.
Officials point out that at the time of the initial gunshot, both officers' guns are holstered.
Seconds later, the wounded officer's partner, now identified as Hall, fires at Spencer, killing him, before radioing for backup.
The injured officer, who was crouching, suffered four wounds when he was shot by a single bullet, Deputy Commissioner Frank Vanore said. He may have tried to fire back, but could not, he said.
"I think he tried, but it did not operate. The other officer did and that was the shot that struck Mr. Spencer," Vanore said.
While officials did release surveillance video from inside the store, Bethel said the officers did not activate their body cameras, which were knocked off their clothing during the struggle.
A social media video circulating online is now part of the investigation. In the video, Spencer can be seen on the ground with officers on top of him moments before two gunshots are heard. The wounded officer's partner can then be seen calling for help over the radio.
"We acknowledge the concerns of the community and the anger it has sparked by a video - a short video that was put online most recently. The dangerous rumors that come from that, the untruths that come from that are difficult to deal with. And so we're working hard to disprove those rumors," Bethel said.
Police are also still searching for a man identified as 42-year-old Jose Quinones-Mendez, who they say stole Spencer's gun after the shooting.
Quinones-Mendez is considered armed and dangerous. The Philadelphia FOP Lodge #5 is offering a $10K reward for any information that leads to his arrest.
The officer who was wounded was released from Temple University Hospital on Monday. The department has not yet released his name.
In the last three years, Bethel noted that there have been five homicides, 17 non-fatal victims were shot 23 robberies, 62 aggravated assaults, 225 narcotics arrests and 14 illegal guns within 750 feet of the location.
"Where this incident happened is one of our primary districts that has a significant level of violence in that particular area. Where those officers are working is one of the most violent pockets in our area with almost 15 times the violence that we see in other areas of the city," he said.
Philadelphia police are working with the DEA's office and the two officers involved have been placed on administrative duties, per protocol.
"Our goal is to be transparent in this work. Our goal is to hold ourselves accountable for our work," Bethel said.
While transparency was the main topic hammered home in this press conference, as well as the desire for the public to see what happened, the media was not allowed to ask any questions.
Action News has reached out to the police department to answer lingering questions, such as what happened in the store before the shooting, whether the "stop and frisk" was justified and if the officer's actions before the shooting followed protocol. We have not yet heard back.
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