PHILADELPHIA—A suspected illegal car meet escalated into a high-speed police chase and officer-involved shooting late Saturday, leaving an officer injured and the suspect hospitalized, authorities said.
At approximately 11:15 p.m., Philadelphia police responded to reports of a car meet in the parking lot of a Target store on Monument Street. Officers observed vehicles leaving the scene erratically, including a red Camaro with Florida plates driven by a man known to police for illegal car activity. A pursuit was initiated but was called off on I-76 East when the suspect fled at a high speed.
Hours later, at around 2 a.m., plainclothes officers assigned to the department’s Car Meet Detail spotted the Camaro parked on Master Street near 9th Street. Officers approached the vehicle, but the driver attempted to flee, reversing into a marked police vehicle and striking it twice. During the altercation, one officer was struck by the Camaro, fell to the ground, and sustained a head injury.
Officer Ryan Daut, a 14-year veteran of the department, discharged his firearm once, striking the passenger-side window of the Camaro. The suspect fled the scene, leading officers on another high-speed pursuit that ended on I-95 after the Camaro performed multiple U-turns, collided with civilian and police vehicles, and ultimately escaped due to hazardous conditions.
The heavily damaged Camaro was later located unoccupied in Upper Darby and impounded by police. The suspect, who suffered a gunshot wound to the neck, was located at Mercy Fitzgerald Hospital and placed in stable condition.
The injured officer, a 36-year-old assigned to the 1st Police District, was treated and released from Jefferson Methodist Hospital. Officer Daut has been placed on administrative duty pending the outcome of an investigation into the incident.