New details emerge from slain Temple officer investigation

It's a press conference you saw right here on CBS News Philadelphia and our streaming channel. Good afternoon everyone. I'm Jim Donovan. The memorial for Officer Fitzgerald is growing at the corner of 17th and Montgomery in North Philadelphia. The married father of four was shot and killed Saturday night while trying to stop 18-year-old robbery suspect Miles Pfeffer, who's now charged with his murder. Our Joe Holden is live outside of police headquarters with the very latest on this morning's press conference. Good afternoon, Joe.

Good afternoon, Jim, and city officials, police officials, prosecutors and members of Temple University offered their condolences to the family of the late officer Christopher Fitzgerald. They detailed information about the early stages of this investigation, including the fact this officer was shot multiple times on Saturday night while patrolling the area of North Philadelphia alone by himself. Now investigators at a news conference at police headquarters this morning say Officer Fitzgerald stopped a group of three people dressed all in black and wearing masks. They ran from him. Fitzgerald eventually caught up with 18-year-old Miles Pfeffer. A struggle began. That's when police say Pfeffer pulled out a handgun and shot Fitzgerald and then continued to shoot him while wounded and on the ground.

Pfeffer then carjacked a man according to police and fled the area. Police first reported exclusively by CBS3, those with Pfeffer were taken into custody by an alert 22nd District Police Corporal and they provided information to investigators, including Pfeffer's cell phone, which helped law enforcement ping his location to a home in Buckingham Township. We learned this morning Pfeffer, his brother and another man, were in the area of Temple University visiting with friends. Police said they have not recovered the murder weapon. Officers say Pfeffer told investigators he destroyed it in a fire pit. Prosecutors said they recovered a number of other weapons from the Buckingham Township home. Pfeffer was charged yesterday with the murder of a law enforcement officer.

Temple University President Jason Wingard conceded their current approach to student safety is not working, telling the press violence cannot be solved alone. The truth is, I can't uphold my mandate. We can't fulfill our mission if we cannot keep our students safe. Our academic community needs the safety, needs the protection that our university deserves and we can't fulfill our mission if we don't do it. Gun violence is a national epidemic. It's ravaging Philadelphia, it's destroying our communities. In North Philadelphia, we are working extremely hard at Temple University to do everything we can to keep our community safe.

We are advocating and allocating more resources, more programs, new initiatives, but frankly it's just not enough. We're not able to get it done. What Wingard said, they are determined to hold themselves accountable to that point after a few questions Temple University officials, including Vice President for Public Safety Jennifer Griffin, were quickly escorted to a waiting elevator and refused to take reporters questions. The CBS3 has reported extensively and repeatedly on warnings from the Temple University Police Association about crisis staffing levels for officers and what the union president described as mandatory over time. At one point last year, the union said officers had racked up 20,000 hours of OT and that a refusal to work over time was met with retribution. The university at the time said it couldn't verify that over time figure. The police union has been critical of the university warning officer safety was in jeopardy with current staffing levels.

Again, the university would not stop to take additional questions from reporters. As for the investigation into the homicide of Officer Fitzgerald, they would not say make that police officials would not say if additional arrests are expected, only that the investigation is continuing. We did confirm a short time ago that the suspect in all of this theft is at the current fromhold correctional facility in segregated population. For now that is the latest for live outside police headquarters. This is Joe Holden, CBS News Philadelphia. Thank you Joe for that update.

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