Post by WaTcHeR on Nov 23, 2006 12:09:56 GMT -5
11.23.2006 - A man who was stopped for a routine traffic violation somehow managed to shoot himself in the back of the head while handcuffed in the back seat of a police cruiser, cops said.
A police source said Oliver Neal, 26, was stopped on Moore Street near 28th, South Philadelphia, shortly before 1 a.m. yesterday and was found to have four packets of cocaine and two packets of marijuana in his possession.
After the drugs were found, police spokesman Capt. Benjamin Naish said, Neal was placed in the back seat of the police car. He said the officers were not inside the car with Neal.
"They were continuing their inspection of the car," he said.
Neal, of Wheeler Street near 57th, later shot himself in the back of the head, police said.
A .40-caliber Smith & Wesson pistol was later found in the back of the cruiser, a police source said. Neal was taken to the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, where he was listed in critical condition.
So, where did the gun come from?
Both Internal Affairs and Homicide are investigating.
"A concern for us is how thorough and how properly this individual was searched prior to being placed in the back of the car," said Chief Inspector William Colarulo, of Internal Affairs.
"The main reason a person is searched after an arrest is to ensure their safety and the safety of everyone else," he said. "We always attempt to find any weapons or anything that can be used as a weapon."
Police said Neal, who faces drug charges, was a "scofflaw," with a bunch of traffic tickets.
He has a record of three prior arrests for weapons violations and drug-related offenses, a police source said.
"It was a self-inflicted gunshot wound, but his intention is not clear at this time," Naish said.
He said investigators are trying to determine whether Neal may have been intentionally trying to shoot himself or seeking to discard the weapon when it discharged accidentally.
Neal's family declined to comment yesterday.
www.philly.com/mld/philly/16064242.htm
A police source said Oliver Neal, 26, was stopped on Moore Street near 28th, South Philadelphia, shortly before 1 a.m. yesterday and was found to have four packets of cocaine and two packets of marijuana in his possession.
After the drugs were found, police spokesman Capt. Benjamin Naish said, Neal was placed in the back seat of the police car. He said the officers were not inside the car with Neal.
"They were continuing their inspection of the car," he said.
Neal, of Wheeler Street near 57th, later shot himself in the back of the head, police said.
A .40-caliber Smith & Wesson pistol was later found in the back of the cruiser, a police source said. Neal was taken to the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, where he was listed in critical condition.
So, where did the gun come from?
Both Internal Affairs and Homicide are investigating.
"A concern for us is how thorough and how properly this individual was searched prior to being placed in the back of the car," said Chief Inspector William Colarulo, of Internal Affairs.
"The main reason a person is searched after an arrest is to ensure their safety and the safety of everyone else," he said. "We always attempt to find any weapons or anything that can be used as a weapon."
Police said Neal, who faces drug charges, was a "scofflaw," with a bunch of traffic tickets.
He has a record of three prior arrests for weapons violations and drug-related offenses, a police source said.
"It was a self-inflicted gunshot wound, but his intention is not clear at this time," Naish said.
He said investigators are trying to determine whether Neal may have been intentionally trying to shoot himself or seeking to discard the weapon when it discharged accidentally.
Neal's family declined to comment yesterday.
www.philly.com/mld/philly/16064242.htm