Philadelphia cop killed after walking in on robbery

[Mithras61]

To anyone in the know - how is Philly different from the rest of PA as far as CCW laws go?

Yes, Philadelphia is "may issue" with authority to deny vested in the Philadelphia Chief of Police. The rest of PA is "shall issue."

PA is "shall issue".

Pennsylvania is a "shall-issue" state in regards to LTCF's, meaning the entity processing your application is required to approve it unless they can prove you are disqualified based on the law.

I guess your sympathy level for the deceased officer just went up.

One unique feature of the Pennsylvania law is that in "a city of the first class" (Philadelphia), [59] the chief of police retained the authority to deny a permit unless:

[T]he applicant has good reason to fear an injury to the applicant's person or property or has other proper reason for carrying a firearm and that the applicant is a suitable individual to be licensed. [60]

...

59. Penn. Stat. Ann. 53 sec. 101 (1974) defines the classes of cities based on population. Only Philadelphia currently qualifies as a "city of the first class," by having a population above one million; the next closest city, Pittsburgh, is declining in population.

60. Penn. Crimes Code sec. 6109(e)(2) (1989).

Maybe you should learn the laws before you whip out your sarcasm.

[seamusTX]

Could we please give it a rest, guys?

The details of Pennsylvania weapons laws are completely irrelevant to the death of this officer. Cops get killed in Texas, Florida, and other states with even fewer weapons restrictions.

I thought we could honor his service and discuss whether we could learn something from this senseless death.

- Jim

[anygunanywhere]

Could we please give it a rest, guys?

The details of Pennsylvania weapons laws are completely irrelevant to the death of this officer. Cops get killed in Texas, Florida, and other states with even fewer weapons restrictions.

I thought we could honor his service and discuss whether we could learn something from this senseless death.

- Jim

For the most part, those of us on this board know why the officer was killed. It was a senseless murder, a life taken by a lower than life scumbag who will continue to prey on the unsuspecting until he receives his due.

Those who do not learn from these criminal acts will continue to blame the inanimate object, the handgun, and wiill continue to press for more restrictions.

We know what will reduce these acts, but some will never learn.

Anygun

[frankie_the_yankee]

To anyone in the know - how is Philly different from the rest of PA as far as CCW laws go?

It is not different at all.

It used to be different (may issue) before PA passed statewide pre-emption around 10 or 15 years ago. Now it is the same as the rest of the state.

Recently, the idiot mayor and idiot city council tried to lobby the legislature to allow Philly to have stricter gun laws. That went nowhere. Then they tried to sue the state government for the same thing. That effort died a proper death as well.

Philly has a lot of violent criminals who commit a lot of crimes using guns. But like the rest of the country, the people with LTC's are not the ones committing these crimes. In spite of this, they are the ones the idiot politicians go after when the criminal element starts making headlines.

[Renegade]

One unique feature of the Pennsylvania law is that in "a city of the first class" (Philadelphia), [59] the chief of police retained the authority to deny a permit unless:

[T]he applicant has good reason to fear an injury to the applicant's person or property or has other proper reason for carrying a firearm and that the applicant is a suitable individual to be licensed. [60]

...

59. Penn. Stat. Ann. 53 sec. 101 (1974) defines the classes of cities based on population. Only Philadelphia currently qualifies as a "city of the first class," by having a population above one million; the next closest city, Pittsburgh, is declining in population.

60. Penn. Crimes Code sec. 6109(e)(2) (1989).

Maybe you should learn the laws before you whip out your sarcasm.

How embarassing for you. I see Frankie's already got my back on that one.

Here is another on-line source:

http://www.bradycampaign.org/legislatio ... .php?st=pa

Here is philly complaining they must issue Carry permits, and blaming crime on concealed carry folks:

http://www.newsbusters.org/blogs/brad-w ... rry-murder

Cool map showing when states went to shall issue:

[DFWCHLer]

I may be a new member, but I'm extremely disappointed in several of the members here.

This is not a time for politicking, or for making fun of the fact the officer was in a donut shop.

This is a time to remember the fallen officer and pray for his family and his brother and sister officers.

Rest in peace.

[carlson1]

I may be a new member, but I'm extremely disappointed in several of the members here.

This is not a time for politicking, or for making fun of the fact the officer was in a donut shop.

This is a time to remember the fallen officer and pray for his family and his brother and sister officers.

Rest in peace.

[Sarah81]

Regardless of political / government decisions, personal opinions, et cetera...the fact remains that one of the good guys died.

We can learn a few things from this:

One: Always, ALWAYS pay attention to what's going on around you. Even a quick peek through the store's front window before you get too close to the entrance can reveal trouble that you don't want to walk into.

Two: Sometimes, the bad guys don't care that you ARE an LEO. Apparently, some of them will shoot you anyway. It appears that society is going down the toilet at an ever-increasing speed. It's our job to be prepared for, well, just about anything.

I hope more Pennsylvanians will obtain CHLs. That's one of the best defenses against the bad guys. The more law-abiding, armed citizens there are, the better the odds that one of us will be where the bad guy is trying to commit a crime.

[dukalmighty]

It just goes to show that everytime somebody puts on a badge he becomes a target not to say that it's possible if a citizen had walked in they might of been the victim,but the officer had no chance he was basically ambushed and killed while doing his job,I believe that in todays society we have to be ready to defend ourselves if the need arises I don't know if it will deter somebody bent on doing a crime but it gives you the ability to be able to defend yourself,believe it or not LEO's put themselves in harms way every day in their jobs politics aside anytime an officer is killed in the line of duty it affects the whole community and i hope they catch the scumbag

[RioShooter]

What I learned from this, is that it confirms my being in "condition yellow" whenever I enter a "stop and rob". Before I enter any convenience store I scan the parking lot for a possible getaway car. I check the entrance for a lookout. And I scan the check-out area for suspicious behavior.

Also, I never enter one without my CCW.

[FightinAggieCHL]

An armed society is a polite society.

I just wish the politicians could see past their own agendas and allow law abiding citizens to choose whether or not they want to arm themselves and what to arm themselves with.

[LarryH]

An armed society is a polite society.

Another fan of Robert A Heinlein?

[FightinAggieCHL]

Glad someone caught it. I like all of the books I have read so far. My dad reads a lot of his stuff too.