Nov 2023. Blues Vol 39 No. 11

AROUND THE COUNTRY

AROUND THE COUNTRY PHILADELPHIA, PA. Philly Police Officer Richard Mendez was shot and killed in a parking garage at the Philadelphia International Airport. PHILADELPHIA, PA - Officials have identified the two officers who were shot in a parking garage at the Philadelphia International Airport on Thursday night, one of them fatally. Officer Richard Mendez, 50, was pronounced dead at the hospital shortly after he was shot multiple times in the upper body. Mendez was married and had a daughter. He had been on the force for nearly 22 years. The other officer, identified as Raul Ortiz, 60, was shot in the arm and is currently hospitalized in stable condition. Ortiz is also married and has three children. Police say Ortiz has 20 years on the force. The shooting happened just after 11 p.m. Thursday as the two officers, who were assigned to the airport unit, were coming into work at parking garage D. Interim Police Commissioner John Stanford said the officers saw several people breaking into a vehicle in the parking garage area. As the officers approached, “the suspects opened fire,” hitting Mendez several times in the upper body and Ortiz in the arm, Stanford said. 28 The BLUES OFFICER BRIAN HOLLEY OFFICER RICHARD MENDEZ “Oh my God, we got an officer down, officer down first level,” a voice can be heard on a police radio call. Police say the suspects fled in a stolen black Dodge Durango after the shooting, and police say that same vehicle dropped off an 18-year-old man with gunshot wounds at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia at 11:29 p.m. That 18-year-old has been identified as Jesus Herman Madera-Duran of Camden, New Jersey. He had gunshot wounds to the chest, abdomen, and left arm, police say. He was pronounced dead at 11:37 p.m. Police believe he was shot in the same incident that left Ofc. Mendez dead and Ofc. Ortiz wounded. Authorities released surveillance video showing one of the suspects dropping off Madera-Duran’s body at CHOP. Police say the Durango was later found torched in South Brunswick in northern New Jersey around 1:30 a.m. Friday. The Durango will be processed by members of the ATF, FBI and the Philadelphia Police Crime Scene Unit for evidence. Police have since learned the Durango had been reported stolen in Philadelphia about a week ago. Officials said Friday afternoon that Ofc. Mendez’s gun is missing. It’s not yet known if anyone fired the weapon during the confrontation. It wasn’t clear if any other suspects were wounded in the shooting, authorities said, or how many of them had fired weapons. “It’s devastating to this city to know that this is the type of behavior that’s occurring, the type of individuals that are out there on the street to take someone’s life over a vehicle,” Stanford said.

Backing the BLUE and your family too. Nationwide Group Health Insurance for First Responders, Police, Fire and Emergency by BlueCross BlueShield. www.FirstRespondersUS.com (800)236.4782 — Individuals (832)541.8842 — Groups The BLUES 29