Police are investigating a traffic stop that ended with an injured officer and fatally shot driver

Philadelphia police on Friday continued to investigate an attempted traffic stop Thursday night that authorities said led to an officer being struck by a car, then pinned against a wall by the vehicle, before the officer shot and fatally wounded the driver.

Family identified the man who died as 36-year-old Curtis Wallace Jr. And while police declined to name the officer involved, multiple law enforcement sources identified him as 38-year-old Marckenson Smith, an eight-year veteran of the force.

The incident began around 7 p.m. Thursday, when Smith attempted to pull over a white Ford Lincoln sedan at Roosevelt Boulevard and F Street in Crescentville, Police Commissioner Kevin Bethel said outside Einstein Medical Center Thursday night.

Bethel did not say what prompted the traffic stop, and a department spokesman on Friday said that remains part of the investigation.

One police source said body-worn camera footage appeared to show that Smith turned on his emergency lights to initiate the stop. But Wallace, who police said was driving the sedan, kept driving, and the officer followed him north.

Bethel said that three civilians saw the officer trying to pull the car over, and “blocked the highway for him” as the sedan attempted to cross the Adams Avenue Bridge, near Newtown and Adams Avenues. The car, surrounded by the civilians in front and officer behind, came to a stop on the bridge.

The witnesses told investigators that Smith got out and approached the driver’s side of the sedan. But the car, despite being boxed in, attempted to get away, and reversed into the officer’s patrol car, Bethel said.

“Those independent witnesses say at some point they see the door open, and then at some point they see the car turn into the officer, striking him and pinning him against the wall,” Bethel said.

Smith then fired multiple times into the car.

Bethel said a passenger got out of the car and tried to flee, but the witnesses grabbed and detained him. Police said Friday that he was questioned and released.

The driver of the car then fled the scene, Bethel said. Officers found the car about a mile away on the 200 block of Benner Street, with a bullet hole through the windshield. Inside, they found Wallace, who had been shot multiple times in the torso. Records show Wallace lived on nearby Oakley Street, and was just a few blocks from home when police found him in the car, losing consciousness.

Wallace was taken to Einstein Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead shortly after.

Smith, an officer in the 25th Police District who was on patrol alone Thursday, was also taken to Einstein with injuries to his legs. He was released from the hospital Friday morning, police said.

Bethel said the incident was recorded on Smith’s body-worn camera, and investigators are reviewing it.

Wallace’s mother, Alice Idris, confirmed that her son was killed.

“It’s true,” she said solemnly Friday morning when reached by phone. She declined to speak further.

Much about the shooting remains unclear, including why the officer attempted to pull Wallace over, and why he did not stop.

Records show he has a history of prior arrests and run-ins with the law.

In March 2015, records show he pleaded guilty to theft and receiving stolen property, and was sentenced to two years’ probation. Later that year in December, he was charged with aggravated assault after police said he broke into a house, beat a man with a metal pipe, dragged him out of the property, and threatened to kill him. Wallace pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 1 ½ months to a year in jail, plus two years’ probation, and was released on time served.

He continued to violate this probation over the years, records show. In early 2019, he was charged with indecent assault, violating a protective order, and strangulation, but the charges were later dismissed for reasons that were not immediately clear.

Most recently, in January 2022, he was convicted of theft and conspiracy for breaking into a woman’s car and stealing her computer, $900 cash, and Burberry coat, records show. He was sentenced to up to 23 months in jail, plus 30 months probation, though he was immediately paroled and ordered to pay $5,000 in restitution.

Just a few months later, he was arrested and charged with orchestrating a catalytic converter theft ring in Allegheny County. Records show he pleaded guilty to theft and was sentenced to one year probation.

Staff writers Barbara Laker and Ryan Briggs contributed to this reporting.