Philadelphia man who shot off-duty cop in South Philly CVS sentenced to 25 to 51 years in prison

More than four years after an off-duty Philadelphia police officer was shot while trying to subdue an armed and suicidal man inside a South Philly CVS, the man who wounded the officer has been sentenced to up to 51 years in prison.

Richard Kralle, 54, of Philadelphia, was convicted of attempted murder of a law enforcement officer, and related crimes in February and now faces 25½ to 51 years behind bars for the May 2020 shooting of Lt. Robert Friel during a struggle in the South Philadelphia store. In Friel’s own words, the officer’s injury would have led to his death if it weren’t for his fellow officers, who quickly applied a tourniquet to stop the blood that had been flowing from a major artery.

A spokesperson for the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 5, the police officers’ union, declined to comment on the sentence handed down Monday by Common Pleas Court Judge Diana L. Anhalt.

On May 29, 2020, Friel had just finished his shift in South Philadelphia when he saw Kralle, who had been reported missing, near the CVS. Inside the store, Friel and another officer confronted Kralle, who was armed, on drugs, and suicidal, police said. Police said Kralle, a bodybuilder, had suspected ties to a biker gang.

As Friel and a fellow officer struggled to subdue Kralle, wrestling inside the store, Kralle pulled out a 9 mm handgun and fired twice: once from the 9mm and once after grabbing an officer’s gun. Friel was struck in the leg and officers acted quickly to save him, applying a tourniquet to stop the bleeding.

Friel had been on the force for 28 years, and had recently been promoted as a lieutenant, assigned to the Third District in South Philadelphia. Kralle was apprehended and Friel was taken to Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, where he underwent surgery for a broken femur, police said.

Friel’s family had previously lost someone in the line of duty. In 1994, Friel’s older brother Joseph was killed at age 25 when a drunken driver struck his cruiser in Roxborough.

Efforts to reach Friel were unsuccessful Tuesday.

District Attorney Larry Krasner on Tuesday said the sentence was a “just outcome” and commended Friel for his bravery and his fellow officers for their quick thinking to save their colleague.