Three Philadelphia officers cleared in fatal shooting

Three police officers who fatally shot a man at a Germantown playground in April have been cleared of wrongdoing, the District Attorney's Office said Tuesday.

Vincent Parsons, 26, took aim at an officer and fired two rounds from a 9mm handgun before the officers returned fire, District Attorney Seth Williams said.

"The three officers acted properly in this situation," Williams said. "Vincent Parsons fired first, and the officers had no other choice but to fire back."

Officers James Allan, Bryan Outterbridge, and Oronde Watson had been working a plainclothes detail around midday April 2 with another officer when they spotted Parsons on the front porch of a house on the 200 block of West Clapier Street.

The officers thought Parsons was his brother, who was wanted on a bench warrant for weapons charges, so they identified themselves as police and approached him.

Parsons ran to the nearby Happy Hollow playground, on the 4900 block of Wayne Avenue, with the officers in pursuit. When Allen saw a gun in Parsons' hand, he drew his own weapon and told people to leave the area, according to the District Attorney's Office.

Three children and a woman were at the playground, witnesses said, but they moved before shots were fired, the District Attorney's Office found.

Parsons fired at Allen, police said, and Allen, Watson, and Outterbridge returned fire. There were no other injuries.

Parsons, a convicted robber, had a history of drug arrests and an outstanding warrant for federal firearms violations when he was shot. In addition to finding his 9mm handgun near his hand, police found seven bags of cocaine and an identification card in someone else's name on Parsons' body, they said. Police later found ammunition, body armor, and drug paraphernalia in his home.

None of Parsons' family members could be reached for comment Tuesday.

Some residents of the Germantown neighborhood questioned the decision. Leah Jones, 29, said police have a right to protect themselves, but wondered whether the officers had not taken a risk in discharging their weapons in a residential neighborhood.

"They weren't supposed to open fire in a playground," she said.

Another woman, who would not give her name, agreed.

"They're supposed to be protecting us," she said.