Inquiry under way for bike shooting

The investigation into the shooting of a bicycle theft suspect by a Penn Police officer on the afternoon of July 4 is ongoing amid a sharp rise in bicycle thefts.

The incident took place last Tuesday at about 4:45 p.m. in the area of 300 S. 33rd Street around the Chemistry Laboratories.

Brahim Johnson, 25, and Wendell Moore, 40, were attempting to steal a bicycle when Penn police approached to arrest them, Penn's Division of Public Safety alleges.

During the arrests, one officer discharged his weapon and Johnson sustained a gunshot wound. He was hospitalized at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, but has since been cleared medically and taken under arrest.

Johnson is currently in custody for charges of theft, receiving stolen property, possession of an instrument at a crime, possession of drugs, resisting arrest and conspiracy, according to Chief of Penn Police Mark Dorsey.

DPS said that an investigation into the incident is currently under way to determine precisely what happened and whether the discharging of a firearm was warranted. Anytime a Penn Police officer shoots an individual, the District Attorney investigates the incident.

DPS declined to release the name of the officer who discharged the weapon, citing an ongoing investigation.

"We are working with the District Attorney's office and the police department and also looking at our policies and look and see what happened," Dorsey said. "But this is all ongoing, and there are very strict procedures on how to handle these things, and we abide by them."

Penn Vice President for Public Safety Maureen Rush said that DPS does not approach any crime lightly, especially when injuries are involved.

"We take this very seriously," Rush said. "This is an unfortunate situation that just brings to light the fact that officers can be involved in very serious incidents no matter what they are responding to."

Dorsey stressed that while officers are trained extensively, they sometimes only have a split second to react to criminals.

"Police officers, even though they are well trained, are human beings too, so we don't know everything until we get a chance to dissect everything," Dorsey said. "Officers only have a few seconds to react and that is why we train the heck out of them, but you don't know exactly what will happen until it happens."

In order for a discharged weapon to be justified, the officer must feel that his life or the life of a passerby is threatened by a suspect.

DPS said that increases in campus lighting and security personnel have helped reduce the amount of violent crime but admits setbacks in other areas.

"We've been doing great with reducing violent crime, but bicycle thefts are up -- and up significantly," Dorsey said, adding that the number of bicycle thefts wax and wane but almost always increase at the beginning of September when new students arrive on campus and bring a large number of new, unregistered bicycles with them.

The last time a Penn police officer fired a weapon was last summer when in pursuit an individual after an armed robbery. No one was hurt in that incident.

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