UPDATED: 2d video in hunt for officer’s killers released, reward rises to $118K

2d video in hunt for officer’s killers released, reward rises to 118K



By Allison Steele
INQUIRER STAFF WRITER

Police today released a second, more detailed video of the two men who stalked and killed off-duty Police Officer Moses Walker Jr. during a stickup on Saturday.

Meanwhile, the reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the pair rose today to $118,000.

Police said investigators have received videos from a number of sources in the neighborhood where Walker was killed, including businesses and residents. They also are in the process of sifting through tips they have received in the case.

On Monday, investigators released a surveillance video that showed Walker warily studying two males following him before he was shot and killed during a robbery Saturday morning in North Philadelphia.

The footage released today shows the two men walking north on 19th Street, about five minutes before the robbery took place, said Capt. James Clark, the commander of the Homicide Unit.

The images of the men's faces are clearer; the man police believe was the shooter has a bald or shaved head and a goatee or beard, and is wearing dark shorts and a light-colored hooded sweatshirt in the video. The other man also is wearing shorts, and both are wearing sneakers. Police are hopeful someone will recognize them from their clothing and mannerisms.

Clark said investigators believed the bandits lived in the neighborhood.

Investigators were out in force looking for residents with robbery records to see what, if anything, they might know about the deadly stickup.

Police Commissioner Charles H. Ramsey urged residents to call if they had the slightest suspicion about the identities of the two males shown in the video.

"Let us decide if any information you have is relevant," Ramsey said Monday.

The video released Monday, one of several examined by investigators, shows Walker strolling west on Cecil B. Moore Avenue at North 19th Street about 5:55 a.m. to catch a bus home after completing his shift at the nearby 22d District.

The 19-year veteran of the force, who was dressed in shorts, wearing a baseball cap, and carrying a backpack, can be seen glimpsing over his shoulder across the street.

A second camera view shows him walking into the street, around a car, and back to the sidewalk, apparently wary of the two males trailing him.

The same camera view then catches the two males coming up on the other side of the street. They crossed the street and followed Walker.

A third man, whom police have interviewed, also crossed the street and followed the pair.

Clark said the investigation revealed that the two males, one of them armed, stopped Walker on the 2000 block of the avenue and announced a robbery. When Walker went for his off-duty weapon, the gunman shot him three times - once in the chest, once in the stomach, and once in an arm, the captain said.

The officer died a short time later at Hahnemann University Hospital.

Funeral arrangements are still pending, Ramsey said today.

Anyone with information was asked to call 911 or the Homicide Unit at 215-686-3334 or -3335, or to submit a tip at www.phillypolice.com.