Officer dies
Veteran policeman Chuck Cassidy loses fight for life
Philadelphia Police Officer Chuck Cassidy has died from the wounds he suffered in a shooting during a robbery Wednesday at a Dunkin' Donuts in West Oak Lane.
Cassidy was pronounced dead at 9:40 a.m. this morning at Albert Einstein Medical Center.
This tragedy "calls into question the direction we are headed in as a society," Mayor Street said at a brief press conference at police headquarters this morning. "This tragedy will take many, many years to overcome."
Street said that an all-faith prayer service will be held for Cassidy at 10 a.m. tomorrow in the Mayor's Meeting Room in City Hall.
He arrived at the hospital around 11:30 a.m. to be with the family.
"Obviously, we are in mourning. We are deeply appreciative of all the support and prayers from the police, the clergy, the community and many folks we don't even know," the family said in a statement delivered by the hospital.
Cassidy, 54, was a 25-year of the police department. He was married with three children.
Police are still searching for the shooter, the subject of a the largest manhunt in recent memory. Cassidy was shot after he interrupted a robbery yesterday at the donut shop. The gunman fired one round into the officer's head and then fled, picking up the fallen officer's handgun along the way.
In the moments after Cassidy was hit, scores of police officers swarmed 20 square blocks in the northern edge of Philadelphia, nearby schools were locked down., and others made their way to Albert Einstein Medical Center, where the 25-year veteran of the force was taken.
Cassidy was the third police officer to be shot this week and the second within 12 hours.
Police yesterday released two portions of a surveillance tape showing the beginning of the robbery, at 10:30 a.m., and its immediate aftermath.
In the first section, a hooded man is seen coming into the shop and lurking, as if casing the store at 6620 N. Broad St. Then he pulls out a handgun and waves it as he bulls his way toward the cashier. The last few frames of the section show Cassidy approaching the front door.
The gunman shot Cassidy in the head at close range, Johnson said during a news conference at Police Headquarters.
The second section of the videotape shows the outside of the store. The robber stoops down, picks up Cassidy's handgun, and runs off.
Cassidy had routinely checked the store because it had been robbed Sept. 18, apparently by the same man, Johnson said. Someone in the parking lot had alerted Cassidy to the robbery, he said, and the officer pulled out his gun as he approached.
Police are seeking information about the shooting. Anyone with information on the gunman or his whereabouts is asked to call the Homicide Division at 215-686-3335.
The Fraternal Order of Police, in conjunction with area businesses, is offering a $50,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the gunman who shot Officer Cassidy. Call the Citizens Crime Commission of Delaware Valley at 215-546-8477.
Contact Inquirer Staff Writer Lita Prout at lprout@phillynews.com or 215-854-2877. Inquirer writer Gene D'Alessandro contributed to this report.