Man fatally shot by police near Philadelphia International Airport had carjacked ambulance in 2013 on Schuylkill Expressway, records show

A 36-year-old man who was fatally shot by a Philadelphia police officer during a physical confrontation on an I-95 ramp near Philadelphia International Airport early Monday had been convicted of carjacking an ambulance on I-76 in 2013, court records show.

Brian Timothy Kada Jr. pleaded guilty in the ambulance case to kidnapping for ransom — there was a patient in the back of the ambulance — and related offenses in a negotiated deal with prosecutors, court records show.

Kada was released at some point before Sept. 16, 2019, when he was arrested in Bensalem and charged with open lewdness and drug offenses. The arrest violated his probation in the ambulance case, and subsequently he was kept incarcerated multiple times with court commitments for mental health reasons, court records show.

The ambulance case was still active and Kada had a court listing as recently as last month before he was killed.

Shortly after 1 a.m. Monday, a uniformed Airport Unit officer patrolling in a marked police vehicle encountered Kada on a ramp connecting I-95 to the airport, police said. Kada told the officer he had been stabbed, and the officer then called for an ambulance and police backup.

While waiting for the ambulance and backup, a physical altercation occurred between Kada and the officer, who fired his Taser but was unable to incapacitate Kada, police said.

Officer Brian Laureano arrived on the scene and the other officer again fired his Taser, which again did not stop Kada, police said. Laureano then fired his gun and struck Kada multiple times.

Kada, who previously had been reported as a Philadelphia resident, was pronounced dead at the scene at 1:25 a.m.

Laureano, 53, is a 28-year member of the department and is assigned to the Airport Unit, police said. Laureano was placed on administrative duty pending the outcome of internal investigations of the shooting. The incident also is being investigated by the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office.

The other officer did not fire a gun, police said, and was not identified.

Neither officer was equipped with a body-worn camera, police said.

In the 2013 ambulance carjacking, Kada jumped out of a taxi around 3 p.m. near the Girard Avenue exit on the westbound side of the Schuylkill Expressway, the Pennsylvania State Police said.

Kada ran up to an EMStar ambulance that was in front of the taxi in heavy traffic, and brandished a gun and forced his way into the vehicle, state police said.

Two medics got out and Kada drove off with a patient inside.

Kada drove on the shoulder of the expressway, clipping the mirror of another vehicle, state police said. At some point, the ambulance got a flat tire.

Kada then jumped out and tried to approach other vehicles, state police said.

Philadelphia police arrived and arrested Kada after a brief foot chase near City Avenue.

The patient and the medics were not hurt.

The Defender Association of Philadelphia, which represented Kada in the ambulance case, declined to comment Thursday evening on Kada’s death.