Police ID man killed by officers on the Parkway
Police identified William Austin as the 60-year-old man fatally shot by police on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway on Friday. Police said Austin was armed with a revolver and had fired it.
Philadelphia police identified the 60-year-old armed man who was fatally shot on Friday morning by two officers on Benjamin Franklin Parkway.
Police responded around 11 a.m. to the area of 21st Street and the Parkway, where William Austin reportedly was waving a revolver around. At some point, 38-year-old Officer Eric Lee and a SEPTA Transit Police officer were at the scene when Austin allegedly fired the gun. He was shot by both officers.
The Philadelphia Police Department named Lee, a 13-year veteran on the force assigned to the department’s Counter Terrorism Unit. The department did not release the SEPTA officer’s name.
A spokesperson for SEPTA could not be reached for comment Wednesday night.
Police had attempted to talk to Austin through a loudspeaker, Police Commissioner Kevin Bethel said on Friday.
“The individual is just continually pointing the weapon, waving the weapon, and waving the weapon multiple times, pointing it at the officers. The officers all backed away and tried to take as much cover as possible,” Bethel said.
The department said on Wednesday that officers had established a containment area and requested SWAT personnel.
“A Philadelphia police officer who is a trained negotiator used a marked police vehicle’s loudspeaker to communicate with the male in an attempt to resolve the incident peacefully. During those efforts, the male repeatedly pointed the firearm toward himself and responding officers,” the department said.
“After several minutes, the male placed the firearm on the ground but retrieved it approximately one minute later. The male subsequently discharged the firearm toward the ground and then raised and pointed it toward responding officers,” the department said.
Lee and the SEPTA officer each fired one round from their police-issued long guns, the department said. Austin was transported by police to Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Neither officer was hurt.
Police at the scene recovered a .357-caliber revolver containing three fired cartridge casings and three live rounds, the department said.
The officers have been reassigned to administrative duty pending internal investigations and a review by the district attorney’s office.
