It was five years ago on Monday that Philadelphia Police Sgt. Patrick McDonald was gunned down in the line of duty on a city street.
McDonald was conducting a traffic stop along North 17th Street in North Philadelphia at 1:45 p.m. on September 23 when two suspects inside the car fled on foot.
The sergeant gave chase and was riddled with gunfire by the car’s passenger Daniel Giddings along nearby Colorado Street, police said. Giddings, a felon who had recently been released from prison, stood over the severely injured officer and fired several shots into him, according to authorities.
Giddings was eventually shot and killed by fellow police Officer Richard Bowes, but not before being hit by Giddings’ gunfire. Ofc. Bowes was critically hurt, but survived the gunfight.
A 1996 graduate of Archbishop Ryan High School, McDonald was an eight year veteran of the force assigned to the Highway Patrol Unit. He was 30 years old.
A hero plaque was dedicated in McDonald’s honor at the Liberty Bell Youth Organization in Northeast Philadelphia in 2010. The plaque was installed along with another for his father, the late Philadelphia Fire Captain Larry McDonald.
McDonald was the fourth Philadelphia Police Officer to be killed in the line of duty in 2008.
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Philadelphia Police Sgt. Stephen Liczbinski was shot and killed after responding to a bank robbery on May 3, 2008. On September 8, 2008, Police Officer Isabel Nazario died after her cruiser was hit by a stolen SUV. Police Sgt. Timothy Simpson was killed on November 17, 2008 after a driver slammed into his cruiser as he responded to a robbery call.
Contact Vince Lattanzio at 610.668.5532, vince.lattanzio@nbcuni.com or follow @VinceLattanzio on Twitter.
