Police officer Richard Mendez of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States has died. He was 50.
Mendez had been on the force for more than 20 years and his plan was to pursue a new career as a college professor after retiring from the force. In 2019, he received his master’s degree.
At around 11:00 p.m. on October 12, 2023, Mendez and his fellow Philadelphia Police Department officer Raul Ortiz, 60, had just arrived at work at Philadelphia International Airport on Essington Ave in Philadelphia when they heard breaking glass. They saw Hendrick Pena-Fernandez, 21, of Pennsauken, New Jersey, USA, Alexander Batista-Polanco, 21, of Camden, New Jersey, Yobranny Martinez Fernandez, 18, of Camden and Jesus Herman Madera Duran, 18, of Camden who were breaking into a car in the parking lot of the airport and confronted them.
During the confrontation, Ortiz, Mendez and Duran were shot. The suspects fled in a stolen black Dodge Durango sport utility vehicle and dropped off Duran, who was shot in the left arm, chest and abdomen, at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia on Civic Center Boulevard in Philadelphia.
At around 11:30 p.m., Duran was pronounced dead at the hospital. Mendez was shot four times and was also pronounced dead at a hospital.
Ortiz was shot once in his arm. He was released from the hospital on October 14, 2023.
At around 4:00 a.m. on October 16, 2023, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Marshals Service arrested Fernandez in Cherry Hill, New Jersey. He is awaiting extradition to Philadelphia on murder charges.
At 12:30 a.m. on October 17, 2023, Batista-Polanco was arrested in New Jersey and transported to the Philadelphia Police Department’s Philadelphia Homicide Unit. He is facing arrest warrants in both New Jersey and Scranton, Pennsylvania.
On October 18, 2023, the New Jersey State Police arrested Pena-Fernandez. He will be extradited to the Philadelphia Homicide Unit.
CONAN Daily 