Reading police justified in shooting suspect, Berks County District Attorney says

Body-cam and surveillance footage shows the suspect sideswiping an officer in an attempt to get away.

• Anthony Orozco
  BioRecent Stories

  

  Anthony Orozco was the Latino communities reporter for WITF.

Berks County District Attorney John T. Adams has ruled that a Reading Police officer acted in self defense when the officer shot and wounded a fleeing suspect last month.

In a news briefing Wednesday, Adams shared an analysis and footage of the Sept. 14 shooting at a Wawa in south Reading.

Police were searching for Emanuel Padilla-Tirado, who had a warrant out for his arrest for suspected involvement in a shooting in the city on Sept. 9.

Surveillance tape appears to show Padilla-Tirado side-swiping a city police officer who was on foot as multiple police cars attempted to stop Padilla-Tirado from leaving the gas station.

Body camera footage from the officer on foot who shot Padilla-Tirado depicts the same series of events. Neither piece of footage has audio but they appear to support police accounts of the shooting.

This story also comes the day a Reading Police officer is determined to be justified in shooting a city man suspected of selling drugs, shooting another person and attempting to hit an officer with his car. https://t.co/37dlD8D3ss pic.twitter.com/jEUVBRnvcD

— Anthony Orozco (@AnthonyOrozco20) October 5, 2022

That officer fired three shots before Padilla-Tirado crashed into a concrete pole.

While watching the footage, Adams said the officer was within his duty to shoot Padilla-Tirado.

“The Reading police officer discharges his weapon lawfully in self defense and defense of another,” Adams said. “Frankly, he was lucky because had he gotten caught between that pole and the car, he would have suffered some very serious injuries.”

Padilla-Tirado was shot in his arm and abdomen and taken to Reading Hospital for treatment. Police allegedly found a “substantial amount” of cocaine and heroin in Padilla-Tirado’s car.

Police also allege Padilla-Tirado had a loaded, stolen handgun tucked into his waistband at the time.

Padilla-Tirado is out of the hospital and in Berks County Prison in lieu of $1 million bail. He faces charges related to aggravated assault, possession of cocaine and heroin and possession of a stolen gun.