Philly cop shoots himself, claims he was shot by a black man
Posted: Tue May 11, 2010 4:43 pm
Phila. officer admits lie in saying he was shot
It was the phone call police in Philadelphia most dread: an officer shot while on patrol.
In a city that has seen more than its share of police killings in recent years, the department's leaders were grimly prepared. Sometime after 4 a.m. on April 5, after Sgt. Robert Ralston was taken to the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania with a shoulder wound, the department's top brass rushed to his side, including Police Commissioner Charles H. Ramsey, who was sick with a stomach virus.
Ralston's injury turned out to be minor. But when he started telling the tale of his brush with disaster, the story raised red flags almost immediately.
Ralston, 46, said he had been shot in West Philadelphia by a black man who pointed a revolver at his head, then grazed him in the shoulder when Ralston knocked the gun away. He said he had returned fire and hit the man in the chest, but no gunshot victim turned up in a hospital.
Over the next few weeks, as police searched the scene and the neighborhood for clues, Ralston's tale continued to unravel. Gunpowder residue found on Ralston's shirt matched the ammunition in his own service weapon, and suggested he'd been shot at point-blank range. Ralston made mistakes when describing the layout of the area where the shooting took place. And though Ralston was adamant he'd shot the assailant, no blood was found at the scene.
Around 4 a.m. Tuesday, after four hours of questioning by detectives at Police Headquarters, Ralston admitted he had shot himself, fabricated the story, and made the false report.
http://www.philly.com/philly/news/break ... _shot.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
It was the phone call police in Philadelphia most dread: an officer shot while on patrol.
In a city that has seen more than its share of police killings in recent years, the department's leaders were grimly prepared. Sometime after 4 a.m. on April 5, after Sgt. Robert Ralston was taken to the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania with a shoulder wound, the department's top brass rushed to his side, including Police Commissioner Charles H. Ramsey, who was sick with a stomach virus.
Ralston's injury turned out to be minor. But when he started telling the tale of his brush with disaster, the story raised red flags almost immediately.
Ralston, 46, said he had been shot in West Philadelphia by a black man who pointed a revolver at his head, then grazed him in the shoulder when Ralston knocked the gun away. He said he had returned fire and hit the man in the chest, but no gunshot victim turned up in a hospital.
Over the next few weeks, as police searched the scene and the neighborhood for clues, Ralston's tale continued to unravel. Gunpowder residue found on Ralston's shirt matched the ammunition in his own service weapon, and suggested he'd been shot at point-blank range. Ralston made mistakes when describing the layout of the area where the shooting took place. And though Ralston was adamant he'd shot the assailant, no blood was found at the scene.
Around 4 a.m. Tuesday, after four hours of questioning by detectives at Police Headquarters, Ralston admitted he had shot himself, fabricated the story, and made the false report.
http://www.philly.com/philly/news/break ... _shot.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
