2 cops hurt as pursuit ends

Two police officers were mowed down yesterday by a driver with a rap sheet who was desperate to escape, police said.

The escape failed and the officers survived.

The incident began about 1 a.m. when two cops were on patrol in the area of Rising Sun Avenue near Mascher Street in Feltonville.

The cops noticed that the suspect, identified as Leslie Wall, 18, had a license plate that didn't match the make or model of the vehicle he was driving, according to Lt. Stephen Quinn, of the 25th District in the Northeast.

"As soon as they flipped on their lights and sirens, they fled," Quinn said.

A short distance away, Wall, who was driving with Rufus Elliot, 23, rammed some parked cars near 5th Street and Roosevelt Boulevard, police said.

"At this point the car is stopped and both officers approach, but the suspect reversed and drove forward, intentionally striking one of the officers," Quinn said.

Wall, of 7th Street near Luzerne, in Hunting Park, made it a little farther down the road with the other officer chasing the car on foot, police said.

"While trying to avoid getting caught, reversing and going forward, he hit the other officer," Quinn said.

Wall finally stopped at 5th Street and Wyoming Avenue, where his car hit a police car that had come to assist the two injured officers, as well as a Jeep Cherokee with two people inside.

Quinn said that detectives who were investigating yesterday morning found a gun near 5th Street and Roosevelt Boulevard that they believe had been tossed from Wall's car.

The occupants of the Jeep were not hurt. One officer was treated for pain in his right elbow and the other for a fractured left hip at Albert Einstein Medical Center, according to Officer Tanya Little, a police spokeswoman.

Both officers were released and are recovering, Quinn said.

Both Wall and Elliot, of Palmetto Street near Levick, in Northeast Philadelphia, were charged with aggravated assault by vehicle, weapons offenses and related charges.

Court records showed that Wall was arrested twice last year and charged with crimes including robbery, aggravated assault and weapons offenses.

Both cases were transferred to Family Court. No information was immediately available about their resolution.