Suspect shot in clash with cop

A confrontation in Port Richmond yesterday afternoon left a police officer injured and a suspect with a bullet wound to the stomach.

Two cops responding to a call of an armed man encountered two men in a red Pontiac van parked near Clearfield and Memphis streets, police said. When the cops, from the 24th District, with headquarters at Whitaker Avenue near Erie, approached the vehicle, the suspects drove off and crashed into a tree a short distance away.

The two suspects then tried to run off. One of the responding officers caught up to the passenger, identified by police as Israel Perez, and the two struggled over the officer's gun, said spokesman Lt. Frank Vanore.

During the struggle, the pistol's magazine fell to the ground, but a bullet in the chamber discharged, striking Perez in the abdomen, said Vanore. The suspect was listed in stable condition at Temple University Hospital. The officer was uninjured.

Meanwhile, the other officer was chasing the driver of the van, identified as Ronald Williams, whom he caught soon after. Williams was treated for a minor head injury that police say he incurred during the pursuit, and was released into police custody. The officer who had chased him was treated for a knee injury.

Police later found what they said was a large quantity of cocaine that the suspects had thrown atop a garage during the chase.

The suspects were charged with aggravated assault, drug possession and related offenses, said police, who did not disclose their ages or addresses. Perez had two outstanding warrants for prior drug-related offenses.

Vanore credited the officer who held on to his gun - who is on administrative duty pending an Internal Affairs investigation - with averting a potentially tragic outcome.

"His training kicked in," he said. "He was able to keep [the weapon]." *