Police officer killed in Pennsylvania, gunman at large

Ok still going 50+ hours latrer.

NEW KENSINGTON (KDKA) – Court documents show that the suspect in the fatal shooting of a New Kensington Police officer had faced firearm and drug charges in the past.

pittsburgh.cbslocal.com...
Holt has ties to Homestead, Natrona Heights and Braddock

Next up we have a gold Chrysler Town and Country mini-van with a Pennsylvania license plate KHF-6524. Belonging to another person of interest name Lisa Harrington


pittsburgh.cbslocal.com...

Time to get some sleep

originally posted by: Bigburgh
Ok still going 50+ hours latrer.

NEW KENSINGTON (KDKA) – Court documents show that the suspect in the fatal shooting of a New Kensington Police officer had faced firearm and drug charges in the past.

pittsburgh.cbslocal.com...
Holt has ties to Homestead, Natrona Heights and Braddock

Next up we have a gold Chrysler Town and Country mini-van with a Pennsylvania license plate KHF-6524. Belonging to another person of interest name Lisa Harrington

pittsburgh.cbslocal.com...

Time to get some sleep

Let's hope they find the scum before he does more damage.

Latest, $53,500 reward now. Driver of the jeep Tavon Harper has been arrested.

On Saturday, police executed a search warrant at a home on Kenneth Avenue. During the search, police found two bundles of stamp bags of heroin. They also found Harper and $2,500 in cash on his person.

He later admitted to police that he had delivered marijuana to Holt on Friday.

pittsburgh.cbslocal.com...

Where is Holt!!!

Latest 6:28pm est.
Rahmael Sal Holt's mother states that he wants to turn himself in....

pittsburgh.cbslocal.com...

KDKA’s Lynne Hayes-Freeland spoke to the mother of 29-year-old Rahmael Sal Holt on Monday. She says she and other family members have been interviewed by police.

She told us that her son wants to turn himself in, but at this point, he is afraid the publicity surrounding this case could make it difficult to come forward. He wants to make sure he is safe and his surrender is peaceful.

She stressed that she does not know her son’s whereabouts.

She believes that if safe, peaceful and secure arrangements could be made for her son, he would be willing to come forward

We'll see.

originally posted by: Bigburgh
Latest 6:28pm est.
Rahmael Sal Holt's mother states that he wants to turn himself in....

pittsburgh.cbslocal.com...

KDKA’s Lynne Hayes-Freeland spoke to the mother of 29-year-old Rahmael Sal Holt on Monday. She says she and other family members have been interviewed by police.

She told us that her son wants to turn himself in, but at this point, he is afraid the publicity surrounding this case could make it difficult to come forward. He wants to make sure he is safe and his surrender is peaceful.

She stressed that she does not know her son’s whereabouts.

She believes that if safe, peaceful and secure arrangements could be made for her son, he would be willing to come forward

We'll see.

That sounds ridiculous to me. If anything the publicity makes it safer for him to turn himself in. The police aren't gonna risk roughing him up or shooting him without cause with the media up their ass.

a reply to: face23785

I agree.
However Holt is armed. So it's up to him not to pull a gun.

Years ago as i mentioned a friend NHP Nevada. Was shot in the head and died. All agencies searched for 5 days. No media was around in the hills during the search. The perpetrator was found. They DIDN'T shoot him, however they cuffed his hand and feet together. Brought him to the command post and placed him on the ground. Some media was there....

All the LEO's circled around him and stared in silence for many minutes. Then off to jail from there.
Life imprisonment.

Surrendered peacefully.

pittsburgh.cbslocal.com...

The FBI, U.S. Marshals, Allegheny County Police and the Pittsburgh SWAT team surrounded a home in the 5000 block of Ladora Way. Holt came out of the home and surrendered peacefully.

They had been following Holt throughout the night as he moved from Duquesne to Homewood and eventually to the home in Hazelwood.

Three people were arrested for hindering Holt’s apprehension, including his mother. Four other people were arrested on outstanding warrants.

This could have ended badly. I'm glad Rahmael did as his grandmother said he wanted, and that was to turn himself in without incident. Giving there were others with him, I wonder how the accounts of that night will be told.

Glad this ended without any more bloodshed.

pittsburgh.cbslocal.com...

Holt was led straight to the "JUDGE" not the magistrate. He was handcuffed with Officer Shaw's handcuffs.

Officer shaw never fired his weapon. Holt fired at Shaw

6 Time's in the chest.

Holt faces charges from New Kensington, County Police, ATF and finally charges fom the FBI.

7 other individuals are also being charged for Harboring a felon, drug charges, illegal fire arms charges and hindering an investigation.

Holt was denied bonds. And will be hiring a private attorney...

a reply to: Bigburgh

Tim, this is great news. I am happy they were able to take him alive, and also proud to see Officer Shaw's cuffs were used to bring him in

Giving up peacefully was probably the smartest thing he could've done. 10:1 this guy gets a needle in the arm

Just wanted to share Officer Shaw's page from the Officer Down Memorial Page link to ODMP

Police Officer
Brian David Shaw
New Kensington Police Department, Pennsylvania

End of Watch: Friday, November 17, 2017

Police Officer Brian Shaw was shot and killed while making a traffic stop of a vehicle in the 1200 block of Leishman Avenue at approximately 8:00 pm.

The driver fled on foot during the stop, then opened fire on Officer Shaw as he pursued him. Officer Shaw was fatally wounded in the chest during the foot pursuit. The subject continued to flee and remains at large.

Officer Shaw had served with the New Kensington Police Department for only five months. He had previously served as a part-time officer for three years with the Cheswick Police Department, Frazer Police Department, and Springdale Township Police Department.

He is survived by his parents, brother and grandmother.

Please contact the following agency to send condolences or to obtain funeral arrangements:
Chief of Police James Klein
New Kensington Police Department
301 Eleventh Street
New Kensington, PA 15068

Phone: (724) 339-7534

RIP brother

a reply to: JBurns



Thought he had a wife and child?


Gov. Wolf singed a moratorium when he took office on the death penalty.
Last governor to sing a death warrant was Gov. Thornburg.

a reply to: Bigburgh


Ah man, that is awful. I heard conflicting reports, but I wouldn't be surprised if ODMP updates their record. At a minimum, I'm sure it will also reflect the arrest of murderer Holt

"Time for a feel trip"

a reply to: JBurns

News this morning..
Father of shooter arrested on separate cases. Domstic issues.

pittsburgh.cbslocal.com...

Troop A Public Information Officers@PSPTroopAPIO

Warrant for strangulation and assault:
Gregory Baucum JR is wanted for strangulation and aggravated assault from a domestic earlier this evening in the New Kensington area. If you have information on his whereabouts please call 911.

Baucum is facing counts of aggravated assault, simple assault, strangulation and harassment. He has been taken to Allegheny County Jail..

originally posted by: Bigburgh
a reply to: Beatnixx117

Love reading your entire posting history.
Did this make you feel better?

I agree this is not the time to take out one's frustrations with 'Law Enforcement", but to have empathy for an individual.

IMO, LE needs to change their rules of engagement. You do not want to, nor do you need to, chase down a fleeing traffic violator on foot by yourself. You already know who he is. He has not committed a felony at the moment (though he may BE a former felon), and you go and pick him up later with patience and a show of force (many officers), and then he stands trial.

IMO, cops are so focused on 'getting their man' no matter what, they actually abridge civil rights. They turn a misdemeanor into 'felony resisting' or 'felony flight to avoid prosecution'. WHY? It's stupid and it no longer a good item in a 'modern rules of engagement' scenario. People are getting killed unnecessarily. STOP DOING THAT. Wake up. Change the paradigm. Bring people to justice. Give up the alpha male aspect of policing. Reinforce the idea of justice and the legal system.

Stop sending cops out alone with a 19 round semi-auto, because you MAKE them have only a kill or be killed option.

FWIW

a reply to: Bigburgh


Geesh, what is it with these people? Seems like a predilection for violence runs in the family here.

Looks like both cop-killer Holt and his violent felon father are being held at the same facility.

Good job PSP

a reply to: Maverick7

Thank you, it is absolutely not the time or the place to voice their discontent with LE. There are plenty of other places they can do that (an entire forum dedicated to it here at ATS).

As far as the rules of engagement go, I have mixed feelings. First and foremost, anything to promote officer safety and reduce LODD/injuries is a good thing in my book.

From an officer perspective, if someone flees during a traffic stop there are usually only two reasons:

1) they have warrants or contraband, which in the case of contraband you will lose (they'll ditch it, or use it). Warrants can be executed at a later time.

2) they are actively engaged in a crime, which may cause an innocent bystander to get injured/killed by not stopping them right then and there - especially in the case of violent felonies. You may also lose evidence, which is needed to convict that person of said crime.

There is really no good reason to run from a simple traffic stop (there's never a good reason to run, but I mean a "logical" one). Those who do run either have outstanding warrants, drugs, weapons or are engaged in criminal activity. Sadly eluding police is usually a misdemeanor offense, and these guys know that. So if they do manage to escape, whatever they have on them (especially felony level stuff) is less likely to be discovered and result in serious charges. Such a policy would reward fleeing, by resulting in significantly lower penalties.

What if your stop interrupted a crime in progress? Now what if failing to apprehend the suspect on the spot results in more victimization or even an innocent person dying? The community would be up in arms, blaming LE for "letting them escape." Those who flee from police are not good people, which is why such an emphasis is put on capturing them.

A fleeing felon is actually considered so dangerous to society that some states have laws permitting use of deadly force for that reason alone.

That being said, there are plenty of departments with a no pursuit policy and they are worth studying. If a no pursuit policy doesn't result in a significant uptick in crime, then it may be worth giving it a shot. Especially when you consider that a large part of LODDs are automobile related (traffic crash, or hit by a vehicle while on foot on a roadway), preventing pursuits for less-serious offenses *could* save lives.

IMO, these incidents make drones in LE inevitable. How much safer would it be for the LEO to deploy a drone from his trunk and follow the car that way? The drone's camera could collect evidence, and GPS tag locations where evidence was discarded. It could also track the offender to their residence, or follow them on foot if/when they ditch the car. A lot of fleeing suspects wreck their vehicles because they aren't used to driving like that. Drones offer a safe and effective means to pursue these targets.

a reply to: JBurns

Though I agree that a person fleeing from a traffic stop looks suspicious, even if there is a preponderance of evidence that it is highly likely they may have a warrant out, the person could STILL be picked up later.

My feeling is that when you balance out risk, the officer's life, the public's safety, the public's risk from a felon who may be planning dangerous action, it's not even close. Yes, there is a risk if you don't chase and apprehend. But it's a theoretical risk.

The action of an officer chasing a dangerous suspect, perhaps shooting the wrong person, in a car, perhaps colliding with an innocent person involves risk that is NOT theoretical. It's a situation that HAS happened - innocents have been killed. LEOs have been killed. The reason we have rules of engagement is go against the gut instinct, the 'rage instinct', the 'revenge instinct' which tells even a reasonable officer to go into the 'Red Zone' and take unnecessary and highly dangerous risks because he/she is in the heat of the moment.

We have to back off from this method of interdiction and go to a system's management approach, have rules of engagement which basically guarantee that the innocent LEO and the innocent public are NOT at any risk.

There will be lots and lots of bad guys. They just keep coming. But there are a limited number of good cops, and innocent civilians which if they keep being killed will change the rules anyway and possibly not in a good way.

But thanks for the reasoned reply. We'll have to see how it goes. This can't keep up as it has been. Something needs to change and that's why doing a positive RoE will be the solution you put on it, instead of someone going over the top and imposing bad decisions.

a reply to: Maverick7


Very good points Maverick7

I agree that warrants in general aren't worth the risk, especially given the fact that a good number of warrants are for non payment of fines, non violent drug offenses or some type of property crime. These individuals absolutely could be picked up at home (or work, or wherever really) without putting officer/public safety on the back burner.

I also appreciate the fact that your ideas are intended to improve officer & public safety (even the offenders themselves), and you've certainly changed my mind about pursuing fleeing subjects. It seems these departments with a no pursuit policy may be on to something here.

If I'm not mistaken, every such department allows for exceptions to that rule under specific conditions. I would see such changes to the rules of engagement as a net positive, especially with how many LODDs (and just annual deaths in general for all people) are automobile related.

Plus, we all know a lot of LEOs hate wearing seatbelts (for many very valid reasons though) which make traffic related accidents even more dangerous.