September 21, 2016
Thom Carroll/PhillyVoice
Northbound traffic moves in six lanes of traffic on Roosevelt Boulevard. Over the last decade $19 million has been spent to improve safety along the notorious 12-lane thoroughfare where more than 100 people have died during that period.
The Philadelphia Police Department is reportedly conducting an Internal Affairs investigation into allegations that one of its officers pulled a gun and used a racial slur during a road rage incident Tuesday afternoon on Roosevelt Boulevard.
The incident, first reported by NBC10, may have been one of two involving the same officer in Northeast Philadelphia, according to a pair of sources who came forward to the news station.
In the incident, which occurred just beyond City Avenue around 4:30 p.m., Philadelphia resident Ahmed Khalil said he was on his way back to work in heavy traffic when a man in a pickup truck, who has not been publicly identified, allegedly reacted to his attempt to merge into another lane.
"He pulled his gun on me, cut me off and almost made me crash three to four times," Khalil said. "He pulled his window down and started cursing at me, telling me, 'You sand n****r! Go back to your country!'"
The man reportedly told Khalil he was a cop before pulling his gun. NBC10 obtained video footage of the tail end of the encounter.
Following the station's report on the incident, a second anonymous source came forward with a video purportedly showing a similar road rage experience with a man in what appears to be the same pickup truck, which had markings including a Philadelphia Police Department sticker and a Fraternal Order of Police license plate.
Philadelphia Police Commissioner Richard Ross said the department is taking the matter seriously and believes it has identified the officer in question.
