Phila. officer shoots man during traffic stop

A Philadelphia police officer shot and injured a man during a confrontation after a traffic stop early Monday morning, police said.

The West Philadelphia incident began outside the city at 2:40 a.m., when an Upper Darby officer thought a passenger in a white Lexus sedan resembled a robbery suspect. When the patrolman stopped the vehicle near First Street and Baltimore Avenue, the suspect ran. The officer gave chase on foot and lost sight of the man. When he returned to his cruiser, the Lexus was gone, police said.

About 20 minutes later, two Philadelphia police officers stopped the Lexus after spying it run a red light near Spruce Street and Cobbs Creek Parkway, said Lt. Frank Vanore, a department spokesman.

As the officers approached the Lexus on the 300 block of South 56th Street, the car lurched and struck the officers' cruiser. One of the officers pulled his service weapon and fired. A round struck the 23-year-old passenger in the arm, Vanore said.

The injured man, who was taken into custody along with the 30-year-old male driver and a 21-year-old woman passenger, was later treated at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Vanore said.

All three were being held at the 18th District police headquarters pending charges, Vanore said.