SEPTA police chief Tasers suspect

SEPTA Police Chief Thomas Nestel III used a Taser on a man in Kensington on Wednesday afternoon while responding to a situation involving a group of neighborhood residents and two intoxicated men, a spokeswoman for the transit authority said.

According to spokeswoman Carla Showell-Lee, around 2:40 p.m. a drunken driver - with his equally intoxicated passenger beside him - hit several parked cars at Frankford Avenue and Cambria Street.

Residents tried to hold the men down until police arrived, but a large "melee" ensued, Showell-Lee said.

A 24th District officer was the first to arrive at the scene. After hearing radio reports of a large fight and of a Route 5 bus being blocked as a result of the incident, Nestel arrived as backup, Showell-Lee said.

By the time the officer and the chief arrived, the crowd had swelled to as many as 60 people, according to a person who witnessed the incident.

Nestel separated the intoxicated men from the crowd, and the officer and chief quickly realized that the men - believed to be high on drugs - were the instigators, the source said.

As the 24th District officer tried to take the driver into custody, the passenger lunged at the officer to try to stop the arrest and Nestel discharged his Taser, striking the man once, according to Showell-Lee.

The crowd cheered when the chief Tasered the man, the source said.

"The Tasing was warranted because the gentleman was trying to lunge at the officer, so he [Nestel] knew he had to do something," Showell-Lee said.

The man was taken to Temple University Hospital's Episcopal Campus for evaluation but was expected to be discharged. The driver was taken into custody.

A Philadelphia police spokeswoman said she did not immediately have any information on the incident.

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