4 cops shot in just over a month

The city was stunned yesterday by the fourth shooting of a Philadelphia police officer in less than six weeks, and also by the shoot-to-kill mentality of their attackers.

Mayor Street said police officers had been fired on 29 times this year. Police Commissioner Sylvester Johnson characterized the style of the attacks as attempted "assassinations."

Officer Charles Cassidy, 54, was shot in the head when he walked in on a robbery at a Dunkin' Donuts in West Oak Lane about 10:30 a.m. yesterday. Cassidy, a 25-year police veteran, remained in "extremely critical" condition late yesterday.

Only 12 hours before Cassidy was shot, an escaping gunman, who had already wounded three people in a car in Center City, stopped his vehicle at 22d and Sansom streets, jumped out and approached the cruiser of a pursuing policeman, Officer Mario Santiago, 44.

The gunman apparently took aim for Santiago's head, but the officer moved out of the way and was hit in the shoulder.

Police said a bullet had been found in the headrest of the driver's side seat of Santiago's patrol car. Santiago has been a cop for 18 years.

The body of the gunman, who ran and jumped into the Schuykill, was found yesterday in the river.

A convicted murderer, he was fleeing from the shooting of three people - two of whom remained in critical condition - at 15th and Sansom. Authorities described the shooting of the three as "assassination" style.

At 2 a.m. Sunday, Officer Sandra Van Hinkle, a 10-year veteran, was shot in the right leg as police tried to get a group of patrons who had poured out of the Koko Bongo club, at 38th and Ludlow, to move along.

When officers persisted in trying to get them to move, one of the men fired "directly at the police," according to police spokesman Lt. Frank Vanore, and Van Hinkle was wounded. The gunman was shot to death.

At 9:05 a.m., Sept. 24, Officer Richard Decoatsworth, 21, was hit in the face with a load of birdshot, fired from a shotgun. He had stopped a car that was backing up Farson Street, near Market. Decoatsworth survived.

The last Philadelphia police officer to die in the line of duty was Gary Skerski, 46. Skerski was hit in the throat by a shotgun blast that struck him above his protective vest, after answering a call of a robbery in progress in a Frankford bar on May 8, 2006.

A prosecutor said the gunman, Solomon Montgomery, who pleaded guilty Tuesday to first-degree murder, had baited officers to enter Pat's Cafe by opening the side emergency door slightly.

On Oct. 4, two armored-car guards, both retired Philadelphia police officers, were shot to death at Bustleton and Bleigh in the Northeast by a man who made off with one bag of money. Joe Alullo and William Widmaier were servicing a bank ATM. *

Staff writer Stephanie Farr contributed to this report.