Murder of Charles Cassidy

Charles "Chuck" Cassidy (1953 – November 1, 2007) was a Philadelphia, Pennsylvania police officer of the 35th police district who became the 259th Philadelphia police officer killed in the line of duty. His subsequent manhunt and funeral were one of the biggest in Philadelphia history. It received bitter reaction, as some thought that Cassidy could have survived the incident in Philadelphia had stricter gun laws.

His death occurred less than 12 hours after an officer was shot in the shoulder while responding to reports of gunfire in Center City.

Early life

Officer Cassidy was a 25 year member of the force. A graduate of Cardinal Dougherty High School class of 1970, he married his high school sweetheart Judy in 1981. The two had three children: Katie, Colby, and John.

According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, Cassidy was a "reassuring, familiar presence on the streets of East Oak Lane, all the more remarkable because after 25 years Charles Cassidy remained passionate and unjaded about police work."

Previous confrontation

Shortly after midnight on March 2, 2007, in the Logan neighborhood of Philadelphia, Cassidy and another officer, Barry Delagol, were confronted by 23-year-old Vincent Turner and 19-year-old Terrence Davis, who were armed with a .32 caliber revolver and a .380 automatic handgun. The two suspects had just shot another man four times and, instead of surrendering, hid behind two cars. Cassidy and Delagol eventually convinced the two to put down their guns and avoid a possibly dangerous situation.

[...]

On October 31, 2007, during his off-time, Officer Cassidy received a tip that "something" was happening inside a Dunkin' Donuts at 6620 N. Broad St. in the West Oak Lane section of Philadelphia. At around 10:30 a.m, Cassidy walked into the building and found a robbery in progress. By the time he drew his gun, a hooded man pushed past two customers, shot him in the forehead, stole his gun, and fled the scene.

Cassidy was taken to Albert Einstein Medical Center where he underwent surgery to remove the lone bullet lodged in his brain. Hundreds of officers lined up at his bedside to pay respects. He died from the injuries at 9:40 a.m. the next day.

Aftermath

An interfaith prayer service was held for the fallen officer at Philadelphia City Hall at 10 a.m on November 2, 2007.

Flags in Philadelphia were flown at half staff.

The Dunkin' Donuts that Cassidy was murdered at was closed the day after the shooting.

Manhunt

A massive manhunt followed Cassidy's death, with heavily armed officers wearing bullet proof vests with SWAT team members raiding several homes. Cassidy was even featured on America's Most Wanted and a reward of $153,000 was offered.

It was later found to be John "Jordan" Lewis, a 21-year-old Olney High School dropout. Eleven days before he shot Chuck Cassidy, he held up a Feltonville pizza shop but was let go because it was thought that another man was the main perpetrator. Surveillance footage show that he took a Greyhound bus down to Miami and was living in a homeless shelter in Miami, Florida when he was captured by the Miami Police at 6:50 am on November 6, 2007.

Funeral

Officer Cassidy was buried at the Holy Sepulchre Cemetery in Cheltenham Township, Pennsylvania on November 7, 2007, with full police honors. It was estimated that 1,800 people attended the funeral mass at the Cathedral Basilica of SS. Peter and Paul in Philadelphia, including Governor Ed Rendell, Mayor John F. Street, Mayor-elect Michael Nutter, U.S. Attorney Patrick L. Meehan, and Justice Seamus P. McCaffery.