iradiophilly | News - Police ID Fleeing Man Arrested on Roof; Starbucks Bathrooms Open to All; $10M For Wrongful Arrest

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Police ID Fleeing Man Arrested on Roof; Starbucks Bathrooms Open to All; $10M For Wrongful Arrest

by: iradioal - Philadelphia, PA
started: 05/12/18 1:58 am | updated: 05/12/18 1:58 am

Philadelphia Police have identified a man arrested on a rooftop in Olney after a dangerous police chase on Thursday afternoon. 25-year-old Luis Rivera-Ortiz of the 3700 block of Percy Street has been charged with Aggravated Assault, Possession of an Instrument of Crime and related offenses in connection to this incident. He had been wanted on other charges including burglaries, thefts, stolen autos as well as aggravated assault on an officer but escaped custody in March. The whole thing was caught on video from news helicopters. It happened around 5 p.m. Thursday, 5/10. Officers recognized him driving a stolen white van and attempted a stop. He almost ran over two officers and slammed into an unmarked police car. He led police on a three mile chase and eventually ditched the van. He opted to go on foot on the 5300 block of 5th Street near Fisher. Police eventually took him into custody after he climbed on top of The Rice Cake House building and was surrounded. Some members of the public have called into question the end of the chase and a certain officer's use of force when finally apprehending the suspect. The second officer to make contact can be seen striking Rivera-Ortiz and kneeing him in the side. Watch the videos below.

Another angle of the end of the chase.

Starbucks Chairman Howard Schultz says that the company will be opening the restrooms in their coffee shops to everyone, regardless if the person has made a purchase. His comments come following an incident at the Starbucks store in Rittenhouse Square in Center City Philadelphia last month. Police were called by the store manager after two black men were denied the use of the restroom and then refused to make a purchase or leave. The men were waiting inside the store for a third person to have a business meeting. They were arrested after they continued to refuse police instructions to leave the store. The men were released hours later with no charges. They have reached a settlement with Starbucks and also came to an agreement with the City of Philadelphia to set up a $200,000 program for young entrepreneurs. More than 8,000 Starbucks stores across the country will close on May 29th so that employees can go through racial bias training.

A Philadelphia man has been awarded $10 million by a jury in a civil case for being wrongly arrested and imprisoned for more than three years awaiting trial. The suit claimed malicious prosecution, false imprisonment, and civil conspiracy. 33-year-old Khanefah Boozer was arrested for allegedly firing a gun at Officer Ryan Waltman in January 2011 in Germantown. Boozer told detectives at the time that it was a friend who shot a gun in the air but that was not investigated. He was unable to post $500,000 bail and sat in jail until his trial in 2014. Officer Waltman testified that Boozer shot at police and another officer corroborated the story. However, a man testified that he shot the gun, not Boozer, and fired in the air, not at officers. He was acquitted at trial. He lost both his mother and sister while in jail. He wants others in the same predicament to have hope, "If you are innocent and the police wrongfully arrested you keep fighting! Keep fighting and donâ€™t ever give up!" Officer Waltman is still active on the force. The City of Philadelphia is expected to appeal.

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