MCKEESPORT, Pa. (AP) – A man in handcuffs fired a weapon. The police were unaware that he got out of a police car and hit an officer three times before fleeing a police station in western Pennsylvania, the police said.
Koby Lee Francis, 22, of McKeesport, had been arrested after allegedly violating a protection order from abuse before Sunday afternoon’s gunfire outside the McKeesport Police Station, Allegheny County Police Superintendent Coleman McDonough said Monday. McKeesport is located near Pittsburgh.
Officer Gerasimos Athans, 32, had wounds that were not life-threatening and was expected to be released from the hospital in the coming days, McDonough said. Police are looking for Francis and said he should be considered armed and dangerous.
Francis was served with the abuse protection on Sunday, but is accused of being twice quick to violate it, police said. He was arrested and a gun was found in his vehicle. Francis was described as combative, and the police initially said he kicked through a police car window. On Monday, the police said that earlier reporting was wrong and he did not kick out the window.
On a video released by police, the officer is seen opening the passenger side of the police vehicle parked outside the station and then staggering after police said he shot from the vehicle. The video shows Frances emerging from the vehicle handcuffed in front of him and firing at the officer before fleeing.
McDonough said Francis was “being searched, of course” when he was arrested, but “was able to hide a weapon and that was the weapon he used … to shoot (the officer).” Video confirmed he was handcuffed with his hands in his back, but somehow managed to get his hands on him before escaping, McDonough said.
After he was shot, the officer “emptied his weapon” on recurring fire, but there was no evidence that Francis was hit, McDonough said.
Francis was wanted for attempted murder, escape, fleeing to avoid arrest, aggravated assault and firearms charges. McDonough called the search for the fugitive, both locally and wherever he would have fled, an “ all hands on deck ” effort that required community help.
“This was clearly a blatant act on his part,” said McDonough. “He went to this address in violation of a (protection order against abuse). He went there angry. He went there armed. I think it’s in the best interest of the community to help us bring him in. “
As for the officer, who has been with the police force for four years, McDonough said, “We are very happy that he can spend Christmas with his family instead of what could have been a very tragic event.”
___
This story has been corrected to note that police now say that previous reports that the suspect was kicked out of a window of a police vehicle were false.