Suspect Who Pointed a Weapon Triggered Shooting, Police Say

Police Thursday said the two burglary suspects wounded early Wednesday were shot after another suspect pointed a gun at two officers.

According to police, five suspects were in a car being pursued by officers when the suspects’ car crashed into a building at 43rd Street and National Boulevard.

Two officers gave chase as the suspects then fled on foot.

The suspect who triggered the shooting by pointing the gun was not hit and escaped, but two other suspects, who were not armed, were wounded in the legs, police said.

One of the suspects was wounded by Officer Sylvester Wade, the other by Officer Jeff Durbin when the suspect made a furtive gesture at his waistband, police said.

Sgt. Barbara Harrison of the Homicide Division said weapons were found in the suspects’ car, including Uzi and Cobray M-11 assault rifles.

The wounded suspects were Rodney Jones, 26, and Rachel Ramon--alias Jerome Peterson--25, Harrison said. Also arrested was Edric Jordan, 25, who was uninjured. The two other suspects were still at large Thursday.

The investigation by the homicide division has determined that the three men arrested are members of a Southeast gang, Harrison said.

Homicide investigators will turn over the results of their investigation to the district attorney, who will determine whether the shooting was justified, according to police spokesman Dave Cohen.

Wade was involved in another shooting incident in July, 1987, when he and another officer shot and killed a man who lunged at them with a pair of scissors. The district attorney’s office ruled that the shooting was justified.

Officers are authorized to fire their weapons if they feel that they, other officers or civilians are in danger, Cohen said Thursday. “If somebody in a crowd is pointing a gun at a police officer, a police officer in those circumstances would shoot,” Cohen said. “The odds are very low that somebody is shot by mistake.”

Cohen said that, if an individual points a gun at a police officer, the individual should reasonably expect that the officer will shoot.

“Our policy is not to shoot first and ask questions later,” he said. “The officer usually has a split second to make that decision (to shoot or not to shoot).”

“The department looks at what the officers do out there,” Cohen said. “We don’t want trigger-happy cops. We want people who can make good judgments and who have good training.”