Suspect shot by honored cop
A motorcyclist was shot and wounded by hero cop Richard Decoatsworth after a bizarre chase in Kensington Tuesday night, a police source said.
Chief Inspector Scott Small said the incident began about 8:40 p.m., when two cops spotted a man with a gun riding on a motorcycle near A Street and Indiana Avenue.
Decoatsworth and his partner on the Highway Patrol gave chase and watched the rider toss his gun near Mascher and Dauphin streets, Small said.
The rider then pulled over on Hagert Street near Amber, but kept the motorcycle running. The Highway Patrol cops got out of their cruiser, "and then something pretty bizarre happened," Small said.
A second man who was standing on Hagert Street suddenly jumped on the motorcycle and tried to mow down the cops, Small said.
Decoatsworth opened fire and wounded the "new" driver, identified by relatives as Jay James, 18, in the thigh.
Police found James shortly after in the emergency room at Hahnemann University Hospital, Small said.
Investigators believe that James knew the original driver of the motorcycle, who was arrested at his home on Palethorp Street near Diamond.
"They just ran his plates and went to the house where the motorcycle was registered," Small said.
Neither Decoatsworth nor his partner, whose name was not released, were injured.
Decoatsworth, 23, was shot in the face by a shotgun-toting thug in Southwest Philadelphia two years ago. He recovered and rejoined the force.
In February, his bravery was rewarded with a seat next to first lady Michelle Obama during a presidential speech in Washington.
Outside Hahnemann Tuesday night, crime-scene tape surrounded James' mother's blood-splattered car. She had driven her son to the hospital, Small said.
"I'm scared, I want answers. I want to know what's going on and if my nephew is OK," said James' aunt, MaryAnn Attica.
"The cops are trying to say that he tried to run them over but it wasn't like that," added Jesenia Benabe, James' girlfriend.
