Philly police identify officer who shot dirt bike rider accused of pulling concealed gun
Officer Paul Moore, 32, shot the 31-year-old man twice around 3:20 p.m. on the 2700 block of North Sixth Street, police said.
Philadelphia police on Tuesday identified the officer who shot a dirt bike rider accused of trying to draw a concealed firearm during a traffic stop Saturday afternoon in the city’s Fairhill section.
Officer Paul Moore, 32, shot the 31-year-old man twice about 3:20 p.m. on the 2700 block of North Sixth Street, police said. The man, who was not identified, was taken by responding officers to Temple University Hospital, where he was initially listed in critical condition. Police on Tuesday said the man’s condition was upgraded to stable.
Police said they took the man’s gun as evidence.
» READ MORE: A dirt bike rider was shot by Philly police over the weekend as the city cracks down on ATVs and motor bikes
A police helicopter unit had notified officers on the ground that a dirt bike rider was “recklessly weaving through traffic,” police said Tuesday.
“A uniformed officer in a marked patrol car arrived at the location where they found the suspect alongside the dirt bike,” police said in a statement.
“As the uniformed officer explained the vehicle would be confiscated due to its illegal operation, the suspect became agitated and reached for a concealed weapon,” police said.
“Officer Paul Moore, who was positioned behind the suspect, observed the movement and saw the suspect drawing a firearm. Moore attempted to disarm the suspect but was unsuccessful,” police said.
Moore, who is assigned to the 22nd District in North Philadelphia, was placed on administrative duty pending the outcome of investigations conducted by Internal Affairs and the Officer-Involved Shooting Unit, police said.
On Saturday, Deputy Commissioner Mike Cram told TV news at the scene that officers assigned to a special anti-ATV detail had followed the man because he was illegally riding the dirt bike.
Cram said the officers confronted the man as he pulled the bike into a garage, tucked inside a fenced-in auto shop and junk car lot on the corner of Sixth and West Somerset Streets.
Mayor Cherelle L. Parker listed enforcement against people illegally riding dirt bikes and ATVs on city streets as a top priority when she took office, as residents have complained about the loud, persistent noise, as well as other illegal activity such as street racing, drifting, blocking intersections, and surrounding responding officers.
Philadelphia police announced in April that they would beef up enforcement as the weather warmed up.