On a Tuesday afternoon, September 23, 2008, Philadelphia Highway Patrol Officer Patrick McDonald, a 30-year-old male, initiated a traffic stop at 17th and Dauphin Streets. The male passenger in the vehicle provided a false name before abruptly exiting the car and fleeing on foot. Officer McDonald pursued the man for several blocks, radioing for backup and providing a description of the fleeing suspect.
The chase ended in a physical struggle in the 2200 block of North Colorado Street.
During the confrontation, the suspect, Daniel Giddings, drew a. 45-caliber handgun and shot Officer McDonald. After McDonald fell to the ground, Giddings stood over him and fired several more shots. The suspect then stole a bicycle and attempted to flee but was intercepted by responding motorcycle officers. Giddings threw the bicycle at one officer, knocking him from his motorcycle, and then engaged in a running gun battle with a second officer, Richard Bowes. Officer Bowes was wounded in the exchange, but he returned fire and fatally shot Giddings.
Daniel Giddings, the 27-year-old suspect, was on parole at the time of the shooting, having been released from prison just weeks earlier. He had a violent criminal history and was wanted for assaulting several police officers just two days prior to the fatal encounter with Officer McDonald. The handgun Giddings used to kill Officer McDonald was illegally trafficked. Stephen Lashley was later convicted of illegally transporting the firearm from South Carolina to Philadelphia and was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison. Another man, Jason Mack, was charged with providing false information on his application to purchase the weapon. Officer Patrick McDonald, an eight-year veteran of the Philadelphia Police Department, was posthumously promoted to the rank of Sergeant.
