READING, Pa. — A Reading police officer was justified in his shooting of a wanted man outside the Wawa on Lancaster Avenue last month, Berks County District Attorney John Adams announced during a news conference late Wednesday morning.
Emanuel Padilla-Tirado had a warrant out for his arrest in connection with a previous shooting in the city when undercover and uniformed RPD officers encountered him on the convenience store parking lot on Sept. 14, officials said.
"Tirado accelerated his vehicle toward the uniformed officer," Adams said. "The officer fired three shots at the suspect... the suspect continued to accelerate the vehicle, striking the officer and the concrete pillar at the front of the store."
Surveillance video released by the Berks County District Attorney's Office shows the attempt by Reading police officers to arrest a shooting s…
The officer was struck by the car but not injured, according to Adams, who released video recorded by a store surveillance camera and the officer's body-worn camera.
"The officer was very lucky," Adams said.
Padilla-Tirado was shot in his abdomen and an arm; his front-seat passenger suffered minor injuries from broken glass, according to the DA.
"Officers from the Reading Police Department administered first aid to the defendant and the front-seat passenger," Adams said. "They were transported by EMS to Tower Health (Reading Hospital)."
Padilla-Tirado has since been committed to the Berks County Jail on $1 million bail.
Adams said the incident could have had a far worse outcome, because Padilla-Tirado was armed at the time of his arrest.
"A loaded firearm was found tucked into his waistband," Adams said. "Detectives later learned that this firearm was reported stolen to the Sinking Spring Police Department on Nov. 19, 2021."
The DA said his detectives also found in Padilla-Tirado's car a second loaded firearm and a substantial amount of cocaine and heroin.
Berks County District Attorney John Adams announced that a Reading police officer was justified in Sept. 14 shooting a wanted man on the parki…
"He's a violent drug dealer," Adams said. "He has utilized all means to avoid apprehension, including trying to run over a member of the Reading Police Department."
Adams said his detectives continue to conduct ballistic examinations of both firearms and that additional charges may be warranted.
In the meantime, Padilla-Tirado is charged with aggravated assault (2 counts), receiving stolen property, firearms not to be carried without a license, recklessly endangering another person, and simple assault (3 counts) in connection with the incident at the Wawa.
He's also facing charges in the previous shooting, which happened at South 14th Street and Fairview Avenue in Reading on Sept. 9.
PHOTOS: Shooting at Wawa in southwest Reading
Investigators quickly focused their attention on this dark-colored sedan.
District Attorney John Adams said one of two people in that vehicle was shot by a police officer.
Berks County District Attorney John Adams can be seen talking with RPD investigators at the scene.
The suspect vehicle was parked diagonally across parking spaces in front of the store in the 400 block of Lancaster Avenue.
