Camden police officer stable after being stabbed

A Camden police officer was in critical but stable condition at Cooper University Hospital Sunday after being stabbed in the chest while trying to break up a fight Saturday night.

Officer Richard Harris' wounds were so serious that fellow officers didn't wait for an ambulance; they rushed him to the hospital in a traffic-cone truck.

The 14-year veteran was working a traffic post at Broadway and Mickle Boulevard about 10:15 p.m., as concertgoers were leaving the Susquehanna Bank Center.

A fight broke out at the intersection, officials said, and Harris, who was in uniform and wearing a reflective traffic vest, tried to intervene.

He grabbed one of the men from behind. The man then spun around and stabbed the officer in the left side of the chest, officials said.

The officer was able to draw his weapon, and the man dropped his knife and was taken into custody.

Camden County Prosecutor Warren W. Faulk and Camden Police Chief Scott Thomson said in a news release that Ronald Belcher, 28, of Camden, was charged with attempted murder and weapons offenses. Lamont Cloud, 33, also of Camden, was arrested as well and charged with obstructing justice and resisting arrest.

Both were held Sunday in the Camden County jail, officials said.

It did not appear that either man, or the group they were fighting with, had been at the concert, officials said.