Phila cop to be fired after shooting
By Alex Lloyd Gross
Ryan Pownall, a 12 year veteran of the Philadelphia Police Department will be fired at the start of next month, after serving a 30day suspension, police officials said during a news conference today. Pownall shot David Jones in the back, after stopping Jones for a traffic violation involving a dirt bike on June 8 2017. As the two struggled when Jones did not comply with commands, he reached in his waist in an attempt to pull a hand gun on the cop. That is when he was shot the first time. Police said that shot was justified.
As Jones tried to run away, he was shot again, That shooting, from a distance of several feet away was not justified, Commissioner Richard Ross said. Because a gun had been dropped on the ground, and Jones was running away, he did not pose a threat, and Pownall should have re evaluated the situation, the commissioner said. There were also other factors to weigh in on the dismissal, such as the fact that Officer Pownall did not radio his location or for assistance as required by de[department policy. The fact that he was transporting civilians in his vehicle when he stopped Jones did not bode well for him either.
The shooting caused Black Lives Matter to protest multiple official civic programs that had nothing to do with the incident. At one point, the group converged on Pownall’s home where they terrorized the block for over one hour. The group used a bullhorn to shout racist slogans and profanity towards Pownall, while about 2 dozen cops surrounded his home. They were not happy with Pownall being fired, they said it is “not enough”.
Multiple police supporters feel that the city caved to the terrorist group and hope that Pownall will win back his job with arbitration in the future