Philadelphia Police Officer Robert Wilson III – Killed during Robbery – Funeral details
Event Date
03/14/2015
Event TimeAll Day;
Funeral arrangements have been announced for slain Philadelphia Police Officer Robert Wilson III.
A viewing will be held Friday from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Francis Funeral Home, 5201 Whitby Avenue in Philadelphia.
Another viewing will be held Saturday from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. at the Palestra on the University of Pennsylvania campus, 223 South 33rd Street in University City.
A funeral service will follow at the Palestra at 10:30 a.m. Saturday.
Join Warriors Watch and friends to honor PO Wilson by doing a Flag Line.
DATE: Saturday, March 14th.
MEETING PLACE: Giant Pharmacy, 300 E Baltimore Ave., Lansdowne, PA 19050
MEETING TIME: 9:30 am, proceed to cemetery at 10:30 am
Please refer to http://www.warriorswatch.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=40&t=1480 to be sure there are no changes to times.
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A police officer who went to a video game store to buy a present for his son ended up in a fierce gun battle with two would-be robbers, fighting to the end of his life to protect patrons and employees, a police captain said Friday.
Officer Robert Wilson III, 30, was at the counter of the GameStop store late Thursday afternoon when two brothers armed with semi-automatic weapons entered, the officer turned, and “the gunfight was on,” police homicide Capt. James Clark said.
“The officer was a hero and a warrior,” Clark said. “He fought to the very, very end, firing at both of them. Unfortunately, he lost his life.”
The brothers were identified Friday as Ramone Williams, 24, and Carlton Hipps, 29. Both had prior arrests, and police said Hipps had gotten out of prison in 2009. Both were charged with murder, attempted murder, robbery and related offenses.
Williams was in jail, and Hipps was hospitalized Friday and wearing Wilson’s handcuffs, authorities said. It was unclear if either man had an attorney who could comment on the charges.
Clark said Williams gave a statement to police, saying he and his brother did not see Wilson’s cruiser outside the store and did not know an officer was inside.
The men hid behind signs in the store as Wilson exchanged volleys with them. Clark credited the officer with saving lives by stepping away from other people in the store. He kept firing even after he was hit and “redefined what hero is all about,” Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey said.
His partner, who was outside, shot Hipps in the leg as the two men fled the store in a second gunfight, police said.
All told, more than 50 shots were fired, investigators said.
Police said Williams ran back into the store after the shootings to pretend to be a patron, but was quickly identified as one of the gunmen.
Wilson, a father of two who had been on the force eight years, was stopping by the store for a security check and to buy a game for his 9-year-old son for getting good grades and for his birthday, which is Monday, police said.
He was shot multiple times in the body and in the head in what Clark described as a “fierce” battle inside the shop, where most of the gunfire occurred.
The commissioner said he met Wilson and his partner when they took part in a recent pilot program in which officers wore body cameras. But police said Friday that Wilson was not wearing a body camera at the time.
Surveillance video from store security cameras was recovered.
“It’s a tremendous loss in so many ways,” Ramsey said. “Our focus now is really trying to get the family through it — particularly his son. It’s just a tough time for everybody. How do you explain it?”
Capt. Robert Glenn, who commanded the district Wilson worked in, said he was one of the first to step up for assignments.
“If there was any type of crime pattern that we had going on in the district, he was one of the first officers to say, ‘Captain, let me and my partner be part of the solution, whatever that may be,’” Glenn said.
Funeral arrangements had not yet been set.
The last Philadelphia officer killed, Moses Walker Jr., 40, was shot in an attempted robbery as he walked to a bus stop after an overnight shift in August 2012. His killer was convicted of first-degree murder in December in a nonjury trial that spared a possible death sentence.
Philadelphia police are in mourning after the loss of one of their own.
Officer Robert Wilson III, an 8-year veteran with the 22nd District, died from his injuries after he was shot several times from two sides during an attempted robbery inside a North Philadelphia GameStop.
The 30-year-old father leaves behind a 9-year-old son and a 1-year-old child, as well as a grandmother.
“Take a moment and say a prayer for this family,” said Philadelphia Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey. “And this 9-year-old boy who will now grow up without a father. A 1-year-old is going to grow up without a dad because of what happened today.”
Wilson, who was in full uniform, along with his partner, went inside the GameStop at the Hope Plaza Shopping Center on 2101 West Lehigh Avenue around 4:30 p.m. Thursday. Suddenly, two armed men came inside and announced a robbery.
“We don’t know if they knew he was a police officer or not,” Ramsey said. “We suspect, perhaps, they did not.”
Wilson immediately confronted the pair, leading to a shootout. The suspects, who were on both sides of the officer, shot at him several times at close range as Wilson returned fire, officials said.
“Even though he was being struck multiple times, he continued to fire until the fatal was fired,” Ramsey said.
Wilson’s partner heard the gunfire and shot at the suspects as well.
“One of the suspects was shot,” Ramsey said. “We don’t know if he was shot by Wilson or his partner.”
The second suspect who wasn’t struck fled the scene and tried to blend in with a crowd outside but was quickly apprehended by responding police officers, according to investigators.
A call for an officer down went out at 4:44 p.m. and Wilson was rushed to Temple University Hospital, where he died from his injuries at 6:25 p.m.
“I knew him,” Ramsey said. “He was one of the best police officers this city has to offer. A very, very brave, heroic individual. Even though he was struck multiple times he was able to continue to fire.”
The suspect who was shot was taken to Einstein Hospital, though officials have not yet revealed his condition. Police also said the suspects had priors, and one was on parole.
Police later recovered the suspects’ weapons at the scene of the shooting, a .40-caliber and a 9mm. One of the weapons had an extended clip, allowing the suspect to fire more rounds than usual, officials said.
Wilson along with his partner were part of the group of 22nd District Officers who volunteered to participate in the trial run of the Philadelphia Police body camera program.
“I had a chance to meet all of them when I stopped by there to talk to them and thank them for volunteering,” Ramsey said.
Ramsey did not confirm whether or not Wilson was wearing a body camera at the time of the shooting. Police were able to recover surveillance video from the GameStop however. The video was reviewed by homicide investigators.
Ramsey, who is part of a national task force focused on law enforcement’s relationship with the local community, also spoke on the danger police officers face on a daily basis.
“People tend to lose sight of the dangers inherent in being a police officer,” Ramsey said. “Sometimes they’re seriously injured or even murdered as a result of trying to protect every single person in this city…He put his life on the line to make Philadelphia a better city and a safer city.”
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