Man shot after car, foot pursuit by cops

Troy Bagby-Pressley was arrested last September and accused of narcotics violations. Then, in March, the charges were withdrawn.

But Bagby-Pressley, 28, seemed unable to capitalize on the break he got from the courts. On Monday afternoon, police say, while he was fleeing a traffic stop in North Philadelphia, he tossed drugs out the window of his Buick.

He led police on a short pursuit, in a car, then on foot, when an officer shot and wounded him in the left leg. The officer, whom police would not identify, has been placed on desk duty while Internal Affairs investigates.

It was unclear whether Bagby-Pressley was running away when he was shot or if he had stopped and turned toward the officer, said Lt. Frank Vanore, a police spokesman.

The incident began about 4:30 Monday, when an officer saw Bagby-Pressley commit a traffic violation near 21st and Berks streets. Bagby-Pressley sped off.

"When the defendant was southbound on 25th Street, he was observed throwing crack cocaine out the window," Vanore said.

Once he was on Ridge Avenue near 25th Street, officers saw him throwing marijuana out the window, Vanore said.

Bagby-Pressley then turned onto Bailey Street near Montgomery Avenue, got out of the car, and ran, Vanore said.

"The officer observed the defendant make a motion and reach for an object," Vanore said. "He confronted the defendant, fired his weapon twice and hit him in the leg."

After Bagby-Pressley was shot, he continued to run but was caught less than a minute later.

The crack and the marijuana were recovered, but no weapon was found, Vanore said.

Bagby-Pressley, who remained in stable condition last night at Temple University Hospital, faces charges of aggravated assault, possession with the intent to deliver, recklessly endangering another person, eluding police and related offenses, Vanore said.

It was Bagby-Pressley's seventh arrest since 1997 for charges that include aggravated assault, conspiracy, weapons and drug violations and terroristic threats. Most charges were dismissed for various reasons, but he has been convicted for drugs and weapons offenses.

Bagby-Pressley's family expressed outrage yesterday that he'd been shot. At his mother's home on Judson Street near Berks, a man who identified himself as Bagby-Pressley's uncle said that the police action had not been justified.

"We're all upset," the man said. "His mother is trying to just find out if her son is OK and she can't even do that."

Vanore, however, said that Bagby-Pressley has a history of crime and violence.

"It's obvious from the charges that this man had enough narcotics to be involved in selling them, and he has been involved in violent incidents in the past," Vanore said.

"So it's important that we get violent individuals like this off the streets." *